Automatically-activated wireless hand-supportable laser scanning bar code symbol reading system with data transmission activation switch and automatic communication range dependent control

ABSTRACT

An automatically-activated wireless code symbol reading system comprising a hand-supportable housing having a manually-activatable data transmission switch under automatic communication range dependent control. When a bar code symbol is read, the bar code reader is located inside the predetermined RF data communication range of the system, then the symbol character data string, produced at substantially the same time as the manual activation of the data transmission switch, is transmitted to the base station over the wireless RF communication link. If the device is outside the range, then an audible and/or visual indication is automatically generated, and the packaged symbol character data string is packaged and transmitted to a data storage buffer aboard the bar code reader. Then when the bar code symbol reader is moved within the communication range of the system, the buffered/packaged symbol character data is automatically transmitted to the base station by the RF-based data communication link.

RELATED CASES

The present application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of: U.S.application Ser. No. 10/342,433 filed Jan. 12, 2003; U.S. applicationSer. No. 10/611,813 filed Jul. 1, 2003; U.S. application Ser. No.10/630,622 filed Jul. 30, 2003; U.S. application Ser. No. 10/613,774filed Jul. 3, 2003; U.S. application Ser. No. 10/611,846 filed Jul. 1,2003; U.S. application Ser. No. 10/613,527 filed Jul. 3, 2003; U.S.application Ser. No. 10/630,358 filed Jul. 30, 2003; U.S. applicationSer. No. 10/613,758 filed Jul. 3, 2003; U.S. application Ser. No.09/204,176 filed Dec. 2, 1998; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/452/976filed Dec. 2, 1999; and International Application No. PCT/US99/28530,published as WIPO Publication No. WO 00/33239 on Jun. 8, 2000. Each saidpatent application is assigned to and commonly owned by MetrologicInstruments, Inc. of Blackwood, N.J., and is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to improvements in automaticlaser scanning bar code symbol reading systems, wherein laser scanningand bar code symbol reading operations are automatically initiated inresponse to the automatic detection of objects and/or bar code symbolspresent thereon.

2. Brief Description of the Prior Art

Bar code symbols have become widely used in many environments such as,for example, point-of-sale (POS) stations in retail stores andsupermarkets, inventory management document tracking, and diverse datacontrol applications. To meet the growing demands of this technologicalinnovation, bar code symbol readers of various types have been developedfor sending bar code symbols and producing symbol character data for useas input in automated data processing systems.

In general, prior art hand-held bar code symbol readers using laserscanning mechanisms can be classified into two major categories.

The first category of hand-held laser-based bar code symbol readersincludes lightweight hand-held laser scanners having manually-activatedtrigger mechanisms for initiating laser scanning and bar code symbolreading operations. The user positions the hand-held laser scanner at aspecified distance from the object bearing the bar code symbol, manuallyactivates the scanner to initiate reading, and then moves the scannerover other objects bearing bar code symbols to be read. Prior art barcode symbol readers illustrative of this first category are disclosed inU.S. Pat. Nos. 4,575,625; 4,845,349; 4,825,057; 4,903,848; 5,107,100;5,080,456; 5,047,617; 4,387,297; 4,806,742; 5,021,641; 5,468,949;5,180,904; 5,206,492; 4,593,186; 5,247,162; 4,897,532; 5,250,792;5,047,617; 4,835,374; 5,017,765; 5,600,121; 5,149,950; and 4,409,470.

The second category of hand-held laser-based bar code symbol readersincludes lightweight hand-held laser scanners havingautomatically-activated (i.e. triggerless) mechanisms for initiatinglaser scanning and bar code symbol reading operations. The userpositions the hand-held laser scanner at a specified distance from anobject bearing a bar code symbol, the presence of the object isautomatically detected using an infrared (IR) light beam or a low-powerlaser light beam, the presence of the bar code symbol on the object isdetected using a visible laser light beam, and thereafter the detectedbar code symbol is automatically scanned and decoded (i.e. read) toproduce symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol. Prior art illustrative of this second category of laser-basedbar code symbol reading systems are disclosed in the following Patents:U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,639,606; 4,933,538; 5,828,048; 5,828,049; 5,825,012;5,808,285; 5,796,091; 5,789,730; 5,789,731; 5,777,315; 5,767,501;5,736,982; 5,742,043; 5,528,024; 5,525,789; D-385,265; U.S. Pat. Nos.5,484,992; 5,661,292; 5,637,852; 5,468,951; 5,627,359; 5,424,525;5,616,908; 5,591,953; 5,340,971; 5,340,973; 5,557,093; 5,260,553; andEP-A-0871138.

Automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol readers of thetype disclosed in the above-referenced US Letters Patents enable thereading of bar code symbols without the shortcomings and drawbacks ofmanually-activated hand-held bar code symbol readers. However,automatically-activated bar code symbol readers can at timesaggressively read bar code symbols that are not desired to be read bythe user as, for example, when attempting to read a particular bar codefrom a list of bar code symbols closely printed on a bar code menu orlike structure. This is caused by the laser scanline within the scanningfield scanning across two or more bar code symbols at the same time,which is likely to occur when the bar code scanner is positioned at alarge distance from the object and the laser scanline is large due tothe scanning geometry of the scanner. Oftentimes inadvertent bar codesymbol reading errors must be corrected at their time of occurrence,wasting valuable time and resources of the user.

Notably, the use of the short-range CCD-emulsion mode taught in U.S.Pat. No. 5,558,024 provides a solution to the problem of inadvertentlyreading undesired bar code symbols closely printed on bar code menus.However, even when using this short-range CCD emulation mode, it ispossible for the automatically-generated laser scanning pattern toinadvertently read an undesired bar code from the bar code menu as theoperator moves the head portion of the hand-held reader into positionover the bar code symbol to be read. This is due to the width of thelaser scanning plane intersecting the object plane bearing the bar codesymbol to be read. While it is possible in theory to operate theIR-based object detector in a short-range mode of operation, costconsiderations make this difficult to achieve in practice.

Also, in order to enjoy the benefits of the short-range CCD-emulationmode, the laser scanning bar code symbol reader must be induced intothis mode of operation either by reading a presignated(function-programming) bar code symbol, or by manually actuating aswitch on the exterior of the scanner housing. Then, after reading thebar code symbol from the menu while the device is in its short-rangeCCD-emulation mode, the user is required to reconfigure the scanner backinto its long-range mode of operation so that it can be used to read barcodes within a large depth of field of the reader. Until steps are takento reconfigure the bar code symbol reader into its long range mode ofoperation, the user is forced to read bar code symbols in itsCCD-emulsion mode which can be inconvenient in many types of scanningapplications, thus reducing worker productivity.

When using the above-described system to read bar code symbols onproducts that have been placed among a set of previously “scanned”products at a check-out counter, there is a high likelihood thatpreviously scanned products will be accidentally re-read, creating anerror in check-out operations. Notably, the structure of this problem isquite similar to the bar code menu reading problem described above.

In wireless portable bar code symbol reading apparatus, the aboveproblems are further exacerbated because of the need of the consumerbattery power.

Thus, there is a great need in the art for an improved system and methodof reading bar code symbols using automatically-activated laser scanningmechanisms while overcoming the above described shortcomings anddrawbacks of prior art systems and methods.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providean improved system and method of reading bar code symbols using awireless automatically-activated laser scanning mechanism whileovercoming the above described shortcomings and drawbacks of prior artdevices and techniques.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wirelessautomatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading systemand method which provides the user with a greater degree of control overthe disposition of bar code symbol reading processes automaticallyinitiated to read bar code symbols printed on diverse types of objectsincluding, but not limited to, printed bar code symbol menus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wirelessautomatically-activated code symbol reading system comprising a bar codesymbol reading mechanism contained within a hand-supportable housinghaving a manually-activatable data transmission control (activation)switch, and wherein the bar code symbol reading mechanism automaticallygenerates a visible laser scanning pattern for repeatedly reading one ormore bar code symbols on an object during a bar code symbol readingcycle, and automatically generating a new symbol character data stringin response to each bar code symbol read thereby.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anautomatically-activated code symbol reading system, wherein during a barcode symbol reading cycle, the user visually aligns the visible laserscanning pattern with a particular bar code symbol on an object (e.g.product, document, bar code menu, etc.) so that the bar code symbol isscanned, detected and decoded in a cyclical manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anautomatically-activated code symbol reading system, wherein each timethe scanned bar code symbol is successfully read during a bar codesymbol reading cycle, a new bar code symbol character string isproduced, while an indicator light on the hand-supportable housing isactively driven, and upon activation of the data transmission controlswitch during the bar code symbol reading cycle, a data transmissioncontrol activation signal is produced, enabling a subsequently producedsymbol character data string to be selected and transmitted to the hostsystem in an automatic manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system, wherein theobjection detection is carried out using either infrared (IR) signaltransmission/receiving technology, or low-power non-visible laser beamsignaling technology, which automatically generates an object detectionfield that is spatially-coincident with, or spatially encompasses atleast a portion of the bar code symbol detection and reading fieldsduring the object detection state of system operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system, wherein thevisible laser scanning beam is scanned along a one-dimensional,two-dimensional or omni-directional scanning pattern within the bar codedetection field and bar code reading field of the system.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system, wherein awireless data packet transmission and reception scheme is used totransmit symbol character data to a base station interfaced with a hostsystem.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wirelessautomatic hand-supportable bar code symbol reading system with automaticrange-dependent data transmission control.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system employing a 2-way RF-based datacommunication link between its cradle-providing base station and itswireless hand-supportable code symbol reading device employing amanually-operated data transmission activation switch that is controlledby automatically detecting whether or not the hand-supportable wirelessdevice is located within the RF communication range of the RF-based datacommunication link.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system,wherein the range-dependent condition is detected by detecting thestrength of “heartbeat” signals automatically transmitted from the basestation to the wireless hand-supportable device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such as system,wherein if the hand-supportable scanning device is located out-side ofthe predetermined 2-way RF communication range, then an audible and/orvisual indicator is generated and packaged symbol character data isautomatically buffered within the memory storage of device until thedevice moves into its communication range at a later time, during thenext requested data transmission to the host computer system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such as systemdesigned for use in point-of-sale environments or light warehousingapplications. This system design offers operators convenience andfreedom of mobility.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein wireless reader isprogrammed to require the user to press the data transmission activationbutton another time to transmit the barcode after it has justestablished a new communication link with its base station. This featurewould allow user to rescan a different code to overwrite data before itis sent to the host system via the base station.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein its system controlprocess is programmed to enables multiple reads to be stored before datatransmission is to occur to the base station after depressing the datatransmission activation switch.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein its control system isprogrammed so that all three LEDs illuminate to indicate that wirelessreader is out of range, as well as so that all three LEDs illuminate toindicate that there is stored data in a Data Packet Group Buffer waitingto be transmitted to the base station.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein its control system isprogrammed so that stored data can be cleared by holding down the datatransmission activation switch for programmed duration (i.e. 3 sec.).

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein its control system canbe programmed so that it tests its wireless data communication linkbefore transmission of data packets buffered in memory to the basestation. With this feature, the systems can avoid losing barcode causedby the disconnection of the reader and its base station.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein a mechanical vibratoris provided within the hand-supportable housing of the wireless deviceso that when data transmission from the reader to the base station issuccessful, then the reader automatically vibrates. In noisyenvironments, this feature should provide a clear signal to the operatorthat the transmission status has been successful.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein a low batteryprotection circuit is provided within the wireless hand-supportablereader for (i) automatically monitoring battery voltage; and (ii)razzing/vibrating the reader if the battery voltage is low, and turningoff laser diode within the device, and causing the system to enter itssleep mode. This circuit can protect the battery from over-discharge anddata errors, because the current drawn from the battery will be muchhigher when its voltage is too low.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein the RF transceiver chipset and including associated baseband microcontrollers aboard thewireless reader and base station are automatically driven into a lowpower mode when the data communication link between the wireless readerand its base station is disconnected or terminated. When the wirelessreader is woken up, these microcontrollers are also woken up at the sametime, and the RF transceivers automatically activated and thecommunication link reestablished.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein a system power switchis located at the rear end of reader's housing, and accessible by way ofa small pin hole. With this feature, the operator can disconnect thebattery using the power switch at the rear of the reader. This featureprovides a simple way to save electrical power and will protect thebattery aboard the wireless reader. In addition, this switch can serveas a hardware reset button when something is wrong with the reader.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein the cradle portion ofthe base station is provided with protractable/retractable support hooksfor supporting the hand-held reader in vertical and horizontalorientations alike.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an automaticwireless laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of the presentinvention employs a 2-way RF-based data communication link between itscradle-providing base station and its wireless hand-supportable codesymbol reading device, which has a manually-operated data transmissionactivation switch that is controlled by automatically detecting whetheror not the hand-supportable wireless device is located within the RFcommunication range of the RF-based data communication link. If thehand-supportable scanning device is located out-side of thepredetermined 2-way RF communication range, then an audible and/orvisual indicator is generated and packaged symbol character data isautomatically buffered within the memory storage of device until thedevice moves into its communication range at a later time, during thenext requested data transmission to the host computer system. Thiswireless hand-held scanning system is designed for use in point-of-saleenvironments or light warehousing applications. This system designoffers operators convenience and freedom of mobility.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein the firmware ofwireless bar code reader's firmware is updated by a host computer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, capable of reading 2-D bar codesymbologies such as PDF 417, and the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable, fullyautomatic bar code symbol reading system which is compact, simple to useand versatile.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a novelmethod of reading bar code symbols using the automatically-activated barcode symbol reading system of the present invention.

A further object of the present invention is to provide anautomatically-activated wireless hand-supportable laser scanning barcode symbol reading system with data transmission activation switch andautomatic communication range dependent control.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system employing a low-batteryprotection circuit, vibrational alarm and sleep mode of operation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system, wherein the RF-basedtransceiver chipsets within the wireless hand-supportable unit and basestation thereof are automatically deactivated and said RF datacommunication link therebetween terminated when said system enters itspower-saving sleep mode, and reactivated and reestablished whenre-entering its operational mode.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a wireless barcode symbol reading system capable of automatically collecting andstoring symbol character data when hand-supportable unit is operatedoutside of its RF data communication range, and automaticallytransmitting stored symbol character data when the hand-supportable unitis operated within its RF data communication range.

A further object of the present invention is to provide aautomatically-activated laser scanning 2d bar code symbol readingsystem.

A further object of the present invention is to provide anautomatically-activated hand-supportable 2-d bar code symbol readingsystem employing a linear laser scanning pattern generator, an automaticbar code symbol data detector, audible data capture feedback generator,and a manually-activated data transmission activation switch.

A further object of the present invention is to provide anautomatically-activated wireless laser scanning 2d bar code symbolreading system capable of automatically transmitting stored symbolcharacter data when the hand-supportable unit is operated within its RFdata communication range and automatically collecting and storing symbolcharacter data when the hand-supportable unit is operated outside of itsRF data communication range.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a wireless barcode symbol reading system employing a base station with a cradle havinga hinged support hooks for enabling vertical and horizontalinstallations.

These and further objects of the present invention will become apparenthereinafter and in the claims to Invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the Objects of the Present Invention, theDetailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiments of the PresentInvention should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1A 1 is a schematic representation of a generalized embodiment ofthe wireless system of the present invention, wherein its wirelessautomatic bar code reading device is shown located outside of thepredetermined communication range of the system's 2-way RF datacommunication link, and wherein the heartbeat signal automaticallytransmitted from RF transceiver chip set in the base station is no beinglonger received and detected by the RF transceiver chip set in thewireless automatic bar code reading device, automatically causing thedata transmission subsystem in the hand-supportable device to generatean “out-of-range activation signal”, A₅=0, for use by the controlsubsystem thereof during data packet transmission operations inaccordance with the principles of the present invention shown in FIG. 1A3;

FIG. 1A 2 is a schematic representation of the generalized embodiment ofthe wireless system of the present invention, wherein the wirelessautomatic bar code reading device is shown moved within thepredetermined communication range of the system's 2-way RF datacommunication link, and wherein the heartbeat signal automaticallytransmitted from RF transceiver chip set in the base station is beingreceived and detected by the RF transceiver chip set in the wirelessautomatic bar code reading device, automatically causing the datatransmission subsystem in the hand-supportable device to generate an“in-range activation signal”, A₅=1, for use by the control subsystemthereof during data packet transmission operations in accordance withthe principles of the present invention shown in FIG. 1A 3;

FIG. 1A 3 is a flow-chart type schematic diagram illustrating the stepsinvolved in carrying out the bar code symbol reading method of thepresent invention when using a wireless automatically-activated bar codesymbol reading system, as generally shown in FIGS. 1A1 and 1A2, and thevarious illustrative embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 1B is a schematic representation of the first illustrativeembodiment of the wireless automatically-activated bar code symbolreading device of the present invention, showing the major subsystemcomponents thereof as comprising an IR-based object detection subsystem,a laser-based bar code symbol detection subsystem, a laser-based barcode symbol reading subsystem, a data transmission subsystem, and asystem control subsystem;

FIG. 1C is a schematic representation of the second illustrativeembodiment of the wireless automatically-activated bar code symbolreading device of the present invention, showing the major subsystemcomponents thereof as comprising a laser-based object detectionsubsystem, a laser-based bar code symbol detection subsystem, alaser-based bar code symbol reading subsystem, a data transmissionsubsystem, and a system control subsystem;

FIG. 1D is a schematic representation of the third illustrativeembodiment of the wireless automatically-activated bar code symbolreading device of the present invention, showing the major subsystemcomponents thereof as comprising a laser-based bar code symbol detectionsubsystem, a laser-based bar code symbol reading subsystem, a datatransmission subsystem, and a system control subsystem;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the first illustrative embodiment ofthe wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading device ofthe present invention, shown supported within the scanner support standportion of its matching base unit, for automatic hands-free operation ata POS-station;

FIG. 2B is an elevated front view of the wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading device of FIG. 2A, shownsupported within the scanner support stand portion of its base unit forautomatic hands-free operation;

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of the color-coded state indicating lightsources provided on the exterior of the housing of the wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading device of FIGS. 2A and2B, as well as all other automatically-activated bar code symbol readingdevices of the present invention;

FIG. 2D is a perspective view of the wireless automatically-activatedbar code symbol reading device of FIG. 1A, shown being used in theautomatic hands-on mode of operation;

FIG. 2E is an elevated, cross-sectional side view taken along thelongitudinal extent of the wireless automatically-activated bar codesymbol reading device of FIGS. 2A and 2B, showing the various componentscontained therein;

FIG. 2F is a cross-sectional plan view of the wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading device of FIGS. 2A and2B taken along line 2F-2F of FIG. 2E, showing the various componentscontained therein;

FIG. 2G is an elevated side view of the wireless automatically-activatedbar code symbol reading device of FIGS. 2A and 2B, illustrating ingreater detail the spatial relationship between the IR-based objectdetection field and the laser-based bar code symbol detection andreading fields of the device shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2H is a plan view of the wireless automatically-activated bar codesymbol reading device of FIGS. 2A and 2B;

FIG. 2I is a perspective view of the second illustrative embodiment ofthe wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading device ofthe present invention, wherein a laser-based object detection field andlaser-based bar code symbol detection and reading field are provided forautomatically detecting objects and reading bar code symbols,respectively while the device is operated in its hands-on and hands-freemodes of operation;

FIG. 2J is a perspective view of the third illustrative embodiment ofthe wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading device ofthe present invention, wherein a laser-based bar code detection fieldand laser-based bar code symbol detection and reading field are providedfor automatically detecting and reading bar code symbols while thedevice is operated in its hands-on and hands-free modes of operation;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the fourth illustrative embodiment ofthe wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading device ofthe present invention, comprising an integrated WWW browser program forclient-side HTTP support, a touch-screen LCD panel for manual data entryand visual data display, an integrated laser scanning bar code symbolreading engine for producing an IR-based object detection field and 1-Dor 2-D laser-based bar code symbol detection and reading fields, and awireless communication link established with an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) connected with the Internet, for mobile usage withindiverse application environments;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the fifth illustrative embodiment ofthe wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading device ofthe present invention, comprising, an integrated WWW browser program forclient-side HTTP support, a touch-screen LCD panel for manual data entryand visual data display, an integrated laser scanning bar code symbolreading engine for producing a laser-based object detection field and 1or 2-D laser-based bar code symbol detection and reading fields, and awireless communication link established with an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) connected with the Internet, for mobile usage withindiverse application environments;

FIG. 3C is a perspective view of the sixth illustrative embodiment ofthe wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading device ofthe present invention, comprising an integrated WWW browser program forclient-side HTTP support, a touch-screen LCD panel for manual data entryand visual data display, an integrated laser scanning bar code symbolreading engine for producing a laser-based bar code detection field and1 or 2-D laser-based bar code symbol detection and reading fields, and awireless communication link established with an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) connected with the Internet, for mobile usage withindiverse application environments;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the seventh illustrative embodiment ofthe wireless automatically-activatable bar code symbol reading device ofthe present invention, comprising an integrated laser scanning bar codesymbol reading engine for producing an IR-based object detection fieldand a laser-based omni-directional bar code symbol reading field, and awireless communication link established with its base station adaptedfor battery recharging and hands-free mode of operation within diverseapplication environments;

FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the eighth illustrative embodiment ofthe wireless automatically-activatable bar code symbol reading device ofthe present invention, comprising an integrated laser scanning enginefor producing a laser-based object detection field and a laser-basedomni-directional laser scanning field, and a wireless communication linkestablished with its base station adapted for battery recharging andhands-free mode of operation within diverse application environments;

FIG. 4C is a perspective view of the nineth illustrative embodiment ofthe wireless automatically-activatable bar code symbol reading device ofthe present invention, comprising an integrated laser scanning bar codesymbol reading engine for producing a laser-based bar code detectionfield and a laser-based omni-directional bar code symbol reading field,and a wireless communication link established with its base stationadapted for battery recharging and hands-free mode of operation withindiverse application environments;

FIGS. 5A through 5D are perspective views of the tenth embodiment of thewireless automatic wireless laser scanning bar code symbol readingsystem of the present invention employing a 2-way RF-based datacommunication link between its cradle-providing base station and itshand-supportable code symbol reading device employing amanually-operated data transmission activation switch, wherein theoperation of the data transmission activation switch is controlled bythe automatic detection that the hand-supportable wireless device islocated within the RF communication range of the RF-based datacommunication link by way of detecting the strength of “heartbeat”signals transmitted from the base station to the wirelesshand-supportable device;

FIGS. 5E through 5J show in greater detail the retractable/protractablesupport hook integrated within the cradle-providing base station for (i)supporting the automatic hand-supportable wireless laser scanning barcode symbol reading device in a vertical position when the hingedsupport hook is arranged in its protracted configuration as shown inFIGS. 5E1 and 5F, and (ii) supporting the automatic hand-supportablewireless laser scanning bar code symbol reading device in a horizontalposition when the hinged support hook is arranged in its retractedconfiguration as shown in FIGS. 5G and 5H;

FIG. 5I shows an elevated side view of the cradle-supporting basestation employed in the system of FIGS. 5A through 5D, with its supporthook arranged in its retracted configuration;

FIG. 5J shows an elevated side view of the cradle-supporting basestation employed in the system of FIGS. 5A through 5D, with its supporthook arranged in its protracted configuration;

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a first illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading engine ofthe present invention shown completely assembled, adapted forincorporation into any one of the bar code symbol reading devices of thepresent invention, and programmed for automatically reading bar codesymbols using its IR-based object detection field and its 1-Dlaser-based scanning (i.e. bar code detection and reading) field;

FIG. 6B is a perspective, exploded view of the automatically-activatedlaser-based bar code symbol reading engine shown in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6E is a perspective view of a second illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading engine ofthe present invention shown completely assembled and adapted forincorporation into any one of the bar code symbol reading devices of thepresent invention, and programmed for automatically reading bar codesymbols using its laser-based object detection field and its 1-Dlaser-based scanning (i.e. bar code detection and reading) field;

FIG. 6F is a perspective view of a third illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading engine ofthe present invention shown completely assembled, adapted forincorporation into any one of the bar code symbol reading devices of thepresent invention, and programmed for automatically reading bar codesymbols using its 1-D laser-based scanning (i.e. bar code detecting andreading) field, without automatic object detection;

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a fourth illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading engine ofthe present invention shown completely assembled, adapted forincorporation into any one of the bar code symbol reading devices of thepresent invention, and programmed for automatically reading bar codesymbols using its IR-based object detection field and its 2-Dlaser-based scanning (i.e. bar code detecting and reading) field;

FIG. 7B is an elevated front view of the automatically-activated laserscanning bar code symbol reading engine of FIG. 7A, showing thegeometrical characteristics of its light transmission window;

FIG. 7C is an elevated rear view of the automatically-activated laserscanning bar code symbol reading engine of FIG. 7A, showing itsinput/output signal port;

FIG. 7D is a perspective view of the automatically-activated laserscanning bar code symbol reading engine of FIG. 7A, shown with the uppercover portion of the miniature housing removed off from the lowerhousing portion thereof, revealing the optical layout of the laser beamscanning optics of the device;

FIG. 7E is a perspective view of a fifth illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading engine ofthe present invention shown completely assembled, adapted forincorporation into any one of the bar code symbol reading devices of thepresent invention, and programmed for automatically reading bar codesymbols using its laser-based object detection field and its 2-Dlaser-based scanning (i.e. bar code detecting and reading) field in anautomatic manner;

FIG. 7F is a perspective view of a sixth illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading engine ofthe present invention, shown completely assembled, adapted forincorporation into any one of the bar code symbol reading devices of thepresent invention, and programmed for automatically reading bar codesymbols using its 2-D laser-based scanning (i.e. bar code detecting andscanning) field, without automatic object detection;

FIG. 8A is a perspective view of a seventh illustrative embodiment ofthe automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol readingengine of the present invention shown completely assembled and adaptedfor incorporation into any one of the wireless bar code symbol readingdevices of the present invention, and programmed for automaticallyreading bar code symbols using its IR-based object detection field, andits 2-D omnidirectional-type laser scanning (i.e. bar code detecting andreading) field in an automatic manner;

FIG. 8B is a perspective view of an eighth illustrative embodiment ofthe automatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol readingengine of the present invention shown completely assembled, adapted forincorporation into any one of the wireless bar code symbol readingdevices of the present invention, and programmed for automaticallyreading bar code symbols using its laser-based object detection fieldand its laser-based omnidirectional scanning (i.e. bar code detectingand reading) field in an automatic manner;

FIG. 8C is a perspective view of a ninth illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading engine ofthe present invention shown completely assembled, adapted forincorporation into any one of the wireless bar code symbol readingdevices of the present invention, and programmed for reading bar codesymbols using its laser-based omnidirectional-type scanning (i.e. barcode symbol detecting and reading) field without using automatic objectdetection;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are schematic cross-sectional views of the 3-D laserscanning volume generated from the laser scanning engines of FIGS. 8A,8B and 8C, taken parallel to the light transmissive window at about 1.0″and 5.0″ therefrom;

FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4, taken together, is a system block functionaldiagram of the first general operating system design for the wirelessautomatically-activated laser scanning bar code symbol reading system ofthe present invention, wherein automatic IR-based object detection isemployed during system operation;

FIG. 10B 1 is a schematic diagram of the system override signaldetection circuit employed in the Application Specific IntegratedCircuit (ASIC) chip within the wireless automatically-activated bar codesymbol reading system of FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4;

FIG. 10B 2 is a functional logic diagram of the system overridedetection circuit of the present invention;

FIG. 10C is a functional logic diagram of the oscillator circuit in theASIC chip in the bar code symbol reading system of FIGS. 10A1 through10A4;

FIG. 10D is a timing diagram for the oscillator circuit of FIG. 10C;

FIG. 10E is a block functional diagram of the IR-based object detectioncircuit in the bar code symbol reading system of FIGS. 10A1 through10A4;

FIG. 10F is a functional logic diagram of the first control circuit (C₁)of the control subsystem of FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4;

FIG. 10G is a functional logic diagram of the clock divide circuit inthe first control circuit C₁ of FIG. 10F;

FIG. 10H is table setting forth Boolean logic expressions for theenabling signals produced by the first control circuit C₁;

FIG. 10I is a functional block diagram of the analog to digital (A/D)signal conversion circuit in the ASIC chip in the bar code symbolreading system of FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4;

FIG. 10J is a functional logic diagram of the bar code symbol (presence)detection circuit in the ASIC chip in the bar code symbol reading systemof FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4;

FIG. 10K is a functional logic diagram of the clock divide circuit inthe bar code symbol detection circuit of FIG. 10J;

FIG. 10L is a schematic representation of the time window andsubintervals maintained by the bar code symbol detection circuit shownin FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4 during the bar code symbol detection process,

FIG. 10M is a functional logic diagram of the second control circuit(C₂) in the ASIC chip in the automatic bar code symbol reading system ofFIGS. 10A1 through 10A4;

FIG. 10N is Boolean logic table defining the functional relationshipsamong the input and output signals into and out from the second controlcircuit C₂ shown in FIG. 10M;

FIG. 10O is a functional block diagram of the data packet transmissioncircuit employed in the wireless bar code symbol reading system of FIGS.10A1 through 10A4, showing the arrangement of a Bluetooth® basebandcontroller (i.e. Phillips PCF877750 IC) interfaced with the systemcontroller, a Bluetooth® RF transceiver module (i.e. Phillips UAA3558IC) interface with the baseband controller, and a ceramic antennaelement configured with the RF transceiver module and interfaced withfree-space;

FIG. 11A is a functional block diagram of the data packet receiving andprocessing circuitry and the acknowledgment signal generating circuitryrealized on the printed circuit board in the base unit of theillustrative embodiments;

FIG. 11B is a functional block diagram of the data packet transmissioncircuit employed in the remote base unit of FIG. 11A, showing thearrangement of a Bluetooth® baseband controller (i.e. Phillips PCF877750IC) interfaced with the base unit controller, a Bluetooth® RFtransceiver module (i.e. Phillips UAA3558 IC) interfaced with thebaseband controller, and a ceramic antenna element configured with theRF transceiver module and interfaced with free-space;

FIG. 12 is a schematic representation illustrating the 2-way RFcommunication method used to link the wireless bar code symbol readerhereof to its remote base unit, wherein the bar code symbol readeremploys two-way wireless data packet transmission to the base unitemploying frequency hopping technique supported by the use of theBluetooth RF communication chipset;

FIG. 13A 1 is a schematic representation of the wireless system of thepresent invention, wherein the wireless automatic bar code readingdevice is shown located outside of the predetermined communication rangeof the system's 2-way RF data communication link, and wherein theheartbeat signal automatically transmitted from RF transceiver chip setin the base station is no being longer received and detected by the RFtransceiver chip set in the wireless automatic bar code reading device,automatically causing the data transmission subsystem in thehand-supportable device to generate an “out-of-range activation signal”,A₅=0 for use by the control subsystem thereof during data packettransmission operations;

FIG. 13A 2 is a schematic representation of the wireless system of thepresent invention, wherein the wireless automatic bar code readingdevice is shown moved within the predetermined communication range ofthe systems's 2-way RF data communication link, and wherein theheartbeat signal automatically transmitted from RF transceiver chip setin the base station is being received and detected by the RF transceiverchip set in the wireless automatic bar code reading device,automatically causing the data transmission subsystem in thehand-supportable device to generate an “in-range activation signal”,A₅=1 for use by the control subsystem thereof during data packettransmission operations;

FIGS. 14A1 to 14C4, taken together, show a high level flow chart of thecontrol process carried out by the control subsystem of the bar codesymbol reading system of FIGS. 15A1 through 15A4;

FIG. 15 is a state diagram illustrating the various states that theautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of FIGS. 11A1through 11B may undergo during the course of its programmed operation;

FIG. 16 is a perspective views of an alternative embodiment of theautomatic wireless laser scanning bar code symbol reading system of thepresent invention shown in FIGS. 5A-5J, modified to support the readingof 2-D bar code symbols (e.g. such as the PDF 417 symbology) and thenovel 2-way RF-based data communication link interface illustrated inFIGS. 5A-5J, by way of the user manually moving the linear laserscanning pattern generated therefrom in a downward direction along theheight dimension of the 2-D bar code structure, and therewhile, the BarCode Symbol Data Detector (311′) employed therein automaticallyactivating the generation of audible sounds (e.g. clicks) as each lineof bar code symbol data is detected thereby prior to 2-D symbol decodingand data packet transmission to the remote base station;

FIGS. 17A1 through 17A4, taken together, is a system block functionaldiagram of the operating system design for the automatically-activatedlaser scanning bar code symbol reading system shown in FIG. 16, whereinautomatic IR-based object detection is employed during system operation;and

FIGS. 18A1 through 18C4, taken together, show a high level flow chart ofthe control process carried out by the control subsystem of the bar codesymbol reading system of FIGS. 17A1 through 17A4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENTINVENTION

Referring to the figures in the accompanying Drawings, the variousillustrative embodiments of the wireless automatically-activated laserscanning bar code symbol reading system of the present invention will bedescribed in great detail, wherein like elements will be indicated usinglike reference numerals.

Prior to detailing the various illustrative embodiments of the presentinvention, it will be helpful to first provide a brief overview of thesystem and method thereof.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1A1 and 1A2, the wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system 1000 of thepresent invention generally comprises: a hand-supportable bar codesymbol reader 1001 having a bar code symbol reading mechanism and aBluetooth® RF-based transceiver chipset 803 contained within ahand-supportable housing 1002 having a manually-activatable datatransmission switch 1008; and base station 1010 also having Bluetooth®RF-based transceiver chipset 804 contained within a base stationhousing, and interfaced with the host system to which the base stationis connected.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1A1 and 1A2, the wireless hand-supportable barcode symbol reading system of the present invention is programmed fortwo principally different modes of operation: (1) for automaticallydetecting when the wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader islocated inside of a predetermined RF communication range A₅=1, andthereupon to automatically enable a (currently or subsequently) producedsymbol character data string to be selected and transmitted to its basestation, at substantially the same time when its data transmissionactivation control signal A₄=1 is generated by manual actuation of thedata transmission switch 1008, as schematically depicted as adirectional-arrow structure 1006B; and (2) for automatically detectingwhen the wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader is locatedoutside of said predetermined RF communication range A₅=0, and thereuponto automatically collect and store (aboard the device) the symbolcharacter data string produced at substantially the same time when thedata transmission control activation signal A₄=1 is generated while thewireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader is located outside ofthe predetermined RF communication range, A₅=0. Also, the wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of the presentinvention is programmed so that the wireless bar code reading deviceautomatically transmits collected symbol character data when itsautomatically detects that it has been moved back within thepredetermined RF-based communication range, A₅=1.

By virtue of this advanced range-dependent data transmission controlmethod, the wireless bar code symbol reading system of the presentinvention can now be used in more flexible ways, not restricted bywhether or not the device is located within its communication rangeduring bar code symbol reading and data collection operations, whileoffering the ability to accurately read, in an unprecedented manner,diverse types of bar code symbols on bar code menus, consumer productspositioned in crowded POS environments, and other objects requiringautomatic identification and/or information access and processing.

In FIGS. 2A through 5J, many different embodiments of theautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of the presentinvention are shown. These different embodiments can be classified intothree different types of generalized system designs, each based on thegeneral manner in which its underlying laser scanning mechanism isautomatically-activated and controlled during the bar code symbolreading process of the present invention. These three different systemdesigns are illustrated in FIGS. 1B, 1C and 1D. In each of thesegeneralized system designs, activation of the bar code symbol detectionand bar code symbol reading operations is carried out in a fullyautomatic manner, without the use of a manually-activated trigger orlike mechanism, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,828,048;5,828,049; 5,825,012; 5,808,285; 5,796,091; 5,789,730; 5,789,731;5,777,315; 5,767,501; 5,736,482; 5,661,292; 5,627,359; 5,616,908;5,591,953; 5,557,093; 5,528,024; 5,525,798, 5,484,992; 5,468,951;5,425,525; 5,240,971; 5,340,973; 5,260,553; incorporated herein byreference. Prior to describing each of the illustrative embodiments ofthe present invention in detail, it will be helpful at this juncture tobriefly describe each of the three generalized system designs of thepresent invention.

First Generalized System Design for the Wireless Automatically-ActivatedBar Code Symbol Reading Device of the Present Invention With AutomaticRange-Dependent Data Transmission Control

The first generalized system design for the WirelessAutomatically-Activated Bar Code Symbol Reading Device of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 1B. Any of the ten different illustrativeembodiments shown in FIGS. 2A through 5J can be adapted to realize thisfirst generalized system design. In each such illustrative embodiment ofthe present invention, the hand-supportable, body-wearable ordesktop-supportable bar code symbol reading device (hereinafter referredto as “hand-supportable bar code symbol reading device”) includes anautomatically-activated bar code symbol scanning engine, embedded withinthe housing of the device. While hand-held, finger-supported,desktop-supported and body-wearable housings will be disclosedhereinafter for the bar code symbol reading device of the presentinvention, the term “hand-supportable housing” as used hereinafter andin the claims to Invention shall be deemed to include all such housingdesigns, as well as an infinite array of variations on the form factorsthereof. In general, any of the automatically-activated laser scanningbar code symbol reading engines shown in FIGS. 6A, 7A through 8A can beembodied within the scanner housing of the bar code symbol readingdevice. In the illustrative embodiments, particular laser scanningengine designs have been incorporated into the scanner housing of thebar code symbol reading device for illustrative purposes. It isunderstood, however, that other laser scanning engine designs can beintegrated into the scanner housings of such bar code symbol readingdevices.

As indicated in FIG. 1B, the automatically-activated bar code symbolscanning device of the first general system design 1 comprises a numberof subsystems, namely: an IR-based object detection subsystem 2 astaught in prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,260,553 and 5,808,285, incorporatedherein by reference; a laser-based bar code symbol detection subsystem3; a laser-based bar code symbol reading subsystem 4; a datatransmission subsystem 5; a state indication subsystem 6; a datatransmission activation switch or control device 7A integrated with thescanner housing in part or whole; a mode-selection sensor 7B integratedwith the scanner housing in part or whole; and a system controlsubsystem 8 operably connected to the other subsystems described above.In general, system 1 has a number of preprogrammed operational states,namely: an Object Detection State; a Bar Code Symbol Detection State; aBar Code Symbol Reading State; and a Data Transmission State.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1B, the IR-basedobject detection subsystem 2 performs the following primary functionsduring the object detection state: (i) automatically and synchronouslytransmitting and receiving pulse infrared (IR) signals within anIR-based object detection field 9 defined relative to thehand-supportable scanner housing (not shown) (ii) automaticallydetecting an object in at least a portion of the IR-based objectdetection field 9 by analysis of the received IR pulse signals; and(iii) in response thereto, automatically generating a first controlactivation signal A₁ indicative of such automatic detection of theobject within the object detection field. As shown in FIG. 1A, the firstcontrol activation signal A₁=1 is provided to the system controlsubsystem 8 for detection, analysis and programmed response.

As shown in the figures hereof, object detection, bar code detection andbar code reading fields 9, 10 and 11, respectively, have beenschematically represented only in terms of their general geometricalboundaries. For purposes of clarity, the geometrical characteristics ofthese fields have not been shown. Notably, however, such characteristicscan be ascertained from the various references relating thereto whichare identified and incorporated herein by reference.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1B, thelaser-based bar code symbol detection subsystem 3 performs the followingprimary functions during the bar code symbol detection state: (i)automatically generating a visible laser scanning pattern ofpredetermined characteristics within the laser-based bar code (symbol)detection field 10, defined relative to the scanner housing (not shown),to enable scanning of a bar code symbol on the detected object; (ii)automatically processing scan data collected from the bar code symboldetection field 10 and detecting the presence of the bar code symbolthereon; and (iii) automatically generating a control activation signalA₂=1 indicative thereof in response to the automatic detection of thebar code symbol. As shown in FIG. 1B, the second control activationsignal A₂ is provided to the system control subsystem 8 for detection,analysis and programmed response.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1B, thelaser-based bar code symbol reading subsystem 4 performs the followingfunctions during the bar code symbol reading state: (i) automaticallygenerating a visible laser scanning pattern of predeterminedcharacteristics within the laser-based bar code (symbol) reading field11 defined relative to the scanner housing, to enable scanning of thedetected bar code symbol therein; (ii) automatically decode processingscan data collected from the bar code symbol reading field 11 so as todetect the bar code symbol on the object; (iii) automatically generatinga third control activation signal A₃=1 indicative of a successfuldecoding operation, and producing decoded symbol character datarepresentative of the detected and read bar code symbol. As shown inFIG. 1B, the third control activation signal A₃ is provided to thesystem control subsystem 8 for detection, analysis and programmedresponse.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1B, during theData Transmission State, the data transmission subsystem 5 automaticallytransmits produced symbol character data string to the base station onlywhen the system control subsystem 36 detects at least the followingconditions: (1) generation of third control activation signal A₃=1within a predetermined time period, indicative that the bar code symbolhas been read; (ii) generation of data transmission control activationsignal A₄=1 (e.g. produced from manually-activatable switch 7A) within apredetermined time frame, indicative that user desires the produced barcode symbol character data to be transmitted to the base station; and(iii) generation of the in-range indication signal A₅=1 during thepredetermined time frame, indicative that the bar code symbol reader islocated within the predetermined RF-based communication range of thesystem. Also, during the Data Transmission State, the data transmissionsubsystem 5 automatically collects and stores produced symbol characterdata string (aboard the device) only when the system control subsystem 8detects at least the following conditions: (1) generation of thirdcontrol activation signal A₃=1 within a predetermined time period,indicative that the bar code symbol has been read; (ii) generation ofdata transmission control activation signal A₄=1 (e.g. produced frommanually-activatable switch 7A) within a predetermined time frame,indicative that user desires the produced bar code symbol character datastring to be transmitted to the base station; and (iii) generation ofthe out-of-range indication signal A₅=0 during the predetermined timeframe, indicative that the bar code symbol reader is located outside ofthe predetermined RF-based communication range of the system.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1B, thestate-selection sensor 7B has two primary functions: (i) toautomatically generate the fourth control activation signal A₄=1whenever the scanner housing has been placed within its support stand,or placed on a countertop or like surface in those instances where ithas been designed to do so, so that the system is automatically inducedinto its automatic hands-free mode of operation; and (ii) toautomatically generate the fourth control activation signal A₄=0whenever the scanner housing has been removed from its support stand, orlifted off of a countertop or like surface in those instances where ithas been designed to do so, so that the system is automatically inducedinto its automatic hands-on mode of operation. In the automatichands-free mode of operation, the mode-select sensor 7B effectivelyoverrides the data transmission switch 7B. In the automatic hands-onmode of operation, the data transmission switch 7A effectively overridesthe mode-select sensor 7B.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1B, the systemcontrol subsystem 8 performs the following primary functions: (i)automatically receiving control activation signals A₁, A₂, A₃ and A₄;(ii) automatically generating enable signals E₁, E₂, E₃, E₄, E₅, E₆, andE₇; and (iii) automatically controlling the operation of the othersubsystems in accordance with a system control program carried out bythe system control subsystem 8 during the various modes of systemoperation.

In general, the geometrical and optical characteristics of laserscanning patterns generated by the laser-based bar code symbol detectionsubsystem 3 and the laser-based bar code symbol reading subsystem 4 willdepend on each particular embodiment of the bar code symbol readingsystem of the present invention. In most applications, the laserscanning patterns generated within the bar code detection and readingfields will be substantially congruent, and if not substantiallycongruent, then arranged so that the bar code symbol reading field 11spatially-overlaps the bar code symbol detection field 10 to improve thescanning efficiency of the system. Also, the IR-based object detectionfield 9 will be arranged relative to the bar code detection field 10 sothat it spatially-encompasses the same along the operative scanningrange of the system defined by the geometrical characteristics of thebar code reading field 11 thereof.

In general, detected energy reflected from an object during objectdetection can be optical radiation or acoustical energy, either sensibleor non-sensible by the user, and may be either generated from theautomatic bar code reading device or an external ambient source.However, the provision of such energy is preferably achieved bytransmitting a wide beam of pulsed infrared (IR) light away fromtransmission aperture of the scanner, as taught herein. In the preferredembodiment, the object detection field 9, from which such reflectedenergy is collected, is designed to have a narrowly divergingpencil-like geometry of three-dimensional volumetric expanse, which isspatially coincident with at least a portion of the transmitted infraredlight beam. This feature of the present invention ensures that an objectresiding within the object detection field 9 will be illuminated by theinfrared light beam, and that infrared light reflected therefrom will bedirected generally towards the transmission aperture of the housingwhere it can be automatically detected to indicate the presence of theobject within the object detection field 9.

Initially, system control subsystem 8 provides enable signal E₁=1 to theIR-based object detection subsystem 2. When an object is presentedwithin the IR-based object detection field 9, the object isautomatically detected by the IR-based object detection subsystem 2. Inresponse thereto, the IR-based object detection system automaticallygenerates a control activation signal A₁=1. When control activationsignal A₁=1 is detected by the system control subsystem 8, itautomatically activates the laser-based bar code symbol detectionsubsystem 3 by producing enable signal E₂. This causes the laser-basedbar code detection subsystem 3 to generate a laser scanning pattern ofpredetermined characteristics within the laser-based bar code detectionfield 10. When the laser scanning pattern scans a bar code symbol on thedetected object, scan data signals are produced therefrom, collected,detected and processed to determine whether a bar code symbol has beenscanned within the bar code symbol detection field 10. If the scannedbar code symbol is detected, then the system control subsystem 8automatically generates enable signal E₃ and E₄ so as to activate thebar code symbol reading subsystem 4. In response thereto, thelaser-based bar code reading subsystem 4 automatically generates a laserscanning pattern within the laser-based bar code reading field 11, scansthe detected bar code symbol disposed therewithin, collects scan datatherefrom, decodes the detected bar code symbol, generates symbolcharacter data representative of the decoded bar code symbol, andbuffers the symbol character data in memory.

If the detected bar code symbol is read within a predetermined period oftime, the manually-actuated data transmission switch 7A is depressedwithin a predetermined time frame established by the system controlsubsystem 8, and Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 detects that thebar code symbol reader is located inside the predetermined RF datacommunication range of the system (A₅=1), then the system controlsubsystem 8 automatically activates the data transmission subsystem 5and transmits the buffered symbol character data string, produced atsubstantially the same time as the manual activation of the datatransmission switch, to the base station. In the illustrativeembodiment, this range-dependent condition is detected by detecting thestrength of “heartbeat” signals transmitted from the base station to thewireless hand-supportable device.

If, however, the detected bar code symbol is read within a predeterminedperiod of time, the manually-actuated data transmission switch 7A isdepressed within a predetermined time frame established by the systemcontrol subsystem 8, and Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 detectsthat the bar code symbol reader is located outside of the predeterminedRF data communication range of the system (A₅=0), then the systemcontrol subsystem 8 automatically activates the data transmissionsubsystem 33, generates an audible and/or visual indicator, andtransmits the packaged symbol character data string to a data storagebuffer aboard the bar code symbol reader (or a portable data collectiondevice connected thereto).

Then when the bar code symbol reader is moved within the predeterminedRF-based data communication range of the system, the Bluetooth® RF-basedtransceiver chipset automatically detects this condition, and thenbuffered/packaged symbol character data is automatically transmitted tothe base station by the RF-based data communication link of the system.This wireless hand-held scanning system design offers operatorsconvenience and freedom of mobility, ideal for use in point-of-sale(POS) environments and/or light warehousing applications.

By virtue of the novel system control architecture, the user ispermitted to read bar code symbols in a highly intuitive manner, whereinobject detection, bar code detection, and bar code symbol reading arecarried out in an automatic manner, and decoded symbol character dataproduced at substantially the same time when manual-activation of aswitch is activated, is (i) automatically transmitted to the basestation only when the bar code symbol reader is located within thepredetermined data communication range of the system, and (ii)automatically collected and stored within bar code symbol reader onlywhen the device is located within the predetermined data communicationrange of the system.

The structure and functionalities of the first general system design ofFIG. 1B described above are shown in greater detail in the systemembodiment of FIGS. 10A1 through 15. As will be described in greaterdetail hereinafter, this system embodiment requires a complex controlsubsystem architecture, but offers a significant improvement in powerconservation which can be very important in portable and mobile dataacquisition applications.

Second Generalized System Design for the WirelessAutomatically-Activated Bar Code Symbol Reading Device of the PresentInvention With Automatic Range-Dependent Data Transmission Control

The second generalized system design of the wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 1C. Any of the ten different illustrativeembodiments shown in FIGS. 2A through 5J can be adapted to realize thissecond generalized system design. In each such illustrative embodimentof the present invention, the hand-supportable, body-wearable ordesktop-supportable bar code symbol reading device includes anautomatically-activated bar code symbol scanning engine, embedded withinthe scanner housing. In general, any of the automatically-activatedlaser scanning bar code symbol reading engines shown in FIGS. 6E, 7E and8B can be embodied within the scanner housing of the bar code symbolreading device.

As indicated in FIG. 1C, the automatically-activated bar code symbolscanning engine of the second general system design 15 comprises anumber of subsystems, namely: a laser-based object detection subsystem16 as taught in prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,538 to Heiman, et al.,incorporated herein by reference; a laser-based bar code symboldetection subsystem 17; a laser-based bar code symbol reading subsystem18; a data transmission subsystem 19; a state indication subsystem 20;and a data transmission activation switch or control device 21Aintegrated with the scanner housing in part or whole; a mode-selectionsensor 21B integrated with the scanner housing it part or whole; and asystem control subsystem 22 operably connected to the other subsystemsdescribed above. In general, system 15 has a number of preprogrammedstates of operation, namely: an Object Detection State; a Bar codeSymbol Detection State; a Bar code Symbol Reading State; and a DataTransmission State.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1C, thelaser-based object detection subsystem 16 performs the following primaryfunctions: (i) automatically generates and scans a low-power pulsed(invisible) laser scanning beam across an object within a laser-basedobject detection field 23 defined relative to the hand-supportablescanner housing (not shown); (ii) automatically detects an object in atleast a portion of the laser-based object detection field by analysis ofcollected scan data; and (iii) in response thereto, automaticallygenerating a first control activation signal A₁ indicative of suchautomatic detection of the object within the object detection field 23.As shown in FIG. 1C, the first control activation signal A₁ is providedto the system control subsystem 22 for detection, analysis andprogrammed response.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1C, thelaser-based bar code symbol detection subsystem 17 performs thefollowing primary functions during the Bar Code Symbol Detection State:(i) automatically generating a laser scanning pattern of predeterminedcharacteristics within the laser-based bar code (symbol) detection field24, defined relative to the scanner housing, to enable scanning of a barcode symbol on the detected object; (ii) automatically processing scandata collected from the bar code symbol detection field 24 and detectingthe presence of the bar code symbol thereon; and (iii) automaticallygenerating a control activation signal A₂ indicative thereof in responseto the automatic detection of the bar code symbol. As shown in FIG. 1C,the second control activation signal A₂ is provided to the systemcontrol subsystem 22 for detection, analysis and programmed response.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1C, thelaser-based bar code symbol reading subsystem 18 performs the followingfunctions during the Bar Code Symbol State: (i) automatically generatinga visible laser scanning pattern of predetermined characteristics withinthe laser-based bar code (symbol) reading field 25 defined relative tothe scanner housing, to enable scanning of the detected bar code symboltherein; (ii) automatically decode processing scan data collected fromthe bar code symbol reading field 25 so as to detect the bar code symbolon the detected object; (iii) automatically generating a third controlactivation signal A₃=1 indicative of a successful decoding operation,and producing decoded symbol character data representative of thedetected and read bar code symbol. As shown in FIG. 1C, the thirdcontrol activation signal A₃ is provided to the system control subsystem22 for detection, analysis and programmed response.

As shown in the figures hereof, object detection, bar code detection andbar code reading fields 23, 24 and 25, respectively, have beenschematically represented only in terms of their general geometricalboundaries. For purposes of clarity, the geometrical characteristics ofthese fields have not been shown. Notably, however, such characteristicscan be ascertained from the various references relating thereto whichare identified and incorporated herein by reference.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1C, during theData Transmission State, the data transmission subsystem 19automatically transmits produced symbol character data string to thebase station only when the system control subsystem 22 detects at leastthe following conditions: (1) generation of third control activationsignal A₃=1 within a predetermined time period, indicative that the barcode symbol has been read; (ii) generation of data transmission controlactivation signal A₄=1 (e.g. produced from manually-activatable switch21A) within a predetermined time frame, indicative that user desires theproduced bar code symbol character data string to be transmitted to thebase station; and (iii) generation of the in-range indication signalA₅=1 during the predetermined time frame, indicative that the bar codesymbol reader is located within the predetermined RF-based communicationrange of the system. Also, during the Data Transmission State, the datatransmission subsystem 19 automatically collects and stores/buffersproduced symbol character data strings (aboard memory storage within thedevice) only when the system control subsystem 22 detects at least thefollowing conditions: (1) generation of third control activation signalA₃=1 within a predetermined time period, indicative that the bar codesymbol has been read; (ii) generation of data transmission controlactivation signal A₄=1 (e.g. produced from manually-activatable switch21A) within a predetermined time frame, indicative that user desires theproduced bar code symbol character data string to be transmitted to thebase station; and (iii) generation of the out-of-range indication signalA₅=0 during the predetermined time frame, indicative that the bar codesymbol reader is located outside of the predetermined RF-basedcommunication range of the system.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1C, thestate-selection sensor 21B has two primary functions: (i) toautomatically generate the fourth control activation signal A₄=1whenever the scanner housing has been placed within its support stand,or placed on a countertop or like surface in those instances where ithas been designed to do so, so that the system is automatically inducedinto its automatic hands-free mode of operation; and (ii) toautomatically generate the fourth control activation signal A₄=0whenever the scanner housing has been removed from its support stand, orlifted off of a countertop or like surface in those instances where ithas been designed to do so, so that the system is automatically inducedinto its automatic hands-on mode of operation. In the automatichands-free mode of operation, the mode-select sensor 21B effectivelyoverrides the data transmission switch 21A. In the automatic hands-onmode of operation, the data transmission switch 21A effectivelyoverrides the mode-select sensor 21B.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1C, the systemcontrol subsystem 22 performs the following primary functions: (i)automatically receiving control activation signals A₁, A₂, A₃ and A₄;(ii) automatically generating enable signals E₁, E₂, E₃, E₄, E₅, E₆, andE₇; and (iii) automatically controlling the operation of the othersubsystems in accordance with a system control program carried out bythe system control subsystem 22 during the various modes of systemoperation.

In general, the geometrical and optical characteristics of laserscanning patterns generated by the laser-based bar code symbol detectionsubsystem 17 and the laser-based bar code symbol reading subsystem 18will depend on each particular embodiment of the bar code symbol readingsystem of the present invention. In most applications, the laserscanning patterns generated within the bar code detection and readingfields will be substantially congruent, and if not substantiallycongruent, then arranged so that the bar code symbol reading fieldspatially-overlaps the bar code symbol detection field to improve thescanning efficiency of the system. Also, the laser-based objectdetection field will be arranged relative to the bar code detectionfield so that it spatially-encompasses the same along the operativescanning range of the system defined by the geometrical characteristicsof the bar code reading field thereof.

Initially, system control subsystem 22 provides enable signal E₁=1 tothe laser-based object detection subsystem 16. When an object ispresented within the laser-based object detection field 23, the objectis automatically detected by the laser-based object detection subsystem16. In response thereto, the laser-based object detection system 16automatically generates a control activation signal A₁=1. When controlactivation signal A₁=1 is detected by the control system subsystem 22,the system control subsystem automatically activates the laser-based barcode symbol detection subsystem 17 by producing enable signal E₂. Thiscauses the laser-based bar code detection subsystem 17 to generate avisible laser scanning pattern of predetermined characteristics withinthe laser-based bar code detection field 24. When the laser scanningpattern scans a bar code symbol on the detected object, scan datasignals are produced therefrom, collected, detected and processed todetermine whether a bar code symbol has been detected within the barcode symbol detection field 24. If the scanned bar code symbol isdetected, then the system control subsystem 22 automatically generatesenable signal E₃ and E₄ so as to activate the bar code symbol readingsubsystem 18. In response thereto, the laser-based bar code readingsubsystem 18 automatically generates a visible laser scanning patternwithin the laser-based bar code reading field 25, scans the detected barcode symbol disposed therewithin, collects scan data therefrom, decodesthe detected bar code symbol, generates symbol character datarepresentative of the decoded bar code symbol, and buffers the symbolcharacter data in memory.

If the detected bar code symbol is read within a predetermined period oftime, the manually-actuated data transmission switch 21A is depressedwithin a predetermined time frame established by the system controlsubsystem 22, and Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 detects that thebar code symbol reader is located inside the predetermined RF datacommunication range of the system (A₅=1), then the system controlsubsystem 22 automatically activates the data transmission subsystem 19and transmits the buffered symbol character data string, produced atsubstantially the same time as the manual activation of the datatransmission switch, to the base station. In the illustrativeembodiment, this range-dependent condition is detected by detecting thestrength of “heartbeat” signals transmitted from the base station to thewireless hand-supportable device.

If, however, the detected bar code symbol is read within a predeterminedperiod of time, the manually-actuated data transmission switch 21A isdepressed within a predetermined time frame established by the systemcontrol subsystem 22, and Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 detectsthat the bar code symbol reader is located outside of the predeterminedRF data communication range of the system (A₅=0), then the systemcontrol subsystem 22 automatically activates the data transmissionsubsystem 19, generates an audible and/or visual indicator, andtransmits the packaged symbol character data string to a data storagebuffer aboard the bar code symbol reader (or a portable data collectiondevice connected thereto).

Then when the bar code symbol reader is moved within the predeterminedRF-based data communication range of the system (A₅=1), the Bluetooth®RF-based transceiver chipset automatically detects this condition, andthen buffered/packaged symbol character data is automaticallytransmitted to the base station by the RF-based data communication linkof the system. This wireless hand-held scanning system design offersoperators convenience and freedom of mobility, ideal for use inpoint-of-sale (POS) environments and/or light warehousing applications.

In the second general system design of FIG. 1C, a lower-powerlaser-based object detection subsystem is provided for automaticdetection of objects within the object detection field of the system.Likewise, the laser-based bar code symbol detection subsystem 17 isrealized from various electro-optical and electromechanical componentsassembled together so as to enable automatic detection of bar codesymbols on detected objects within the laser-based bar code detectionfield of the system. Also, the laser-based bar code symbol readingsubsystem 18 is realized from various electro-optical andelectromechanical components assembled together, so as to enableautomatic reading of detected bar code symbols within the laser-basedbar code reading field of the system. As will be described in greaterdetail hereinafter, this system design requires a less complex controlsubsystem architecture, but does not enjoy the power conservationadvantages of system designs employing IR-based object detectiontechniques.

Third Generalized System Design for the Wireless Automatically-ActivatedBar Code Symbol Reading Device of the Present Invention

The third generalized system design of the WirelessAutomatically-Activated Bar Code Symbol Reading Device of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 1D. Any of the ten different illustrativeembodiments shown in FIGS. 2A through 5J can be adapted to realize thisfirst generalized system design. In each such illustrative embodiment ofthe present invention, the hand-supportable, body-wearable ordesktop-supportable bar code symbol reading device includes anautomatically-activated bar code symbol scanning engine, embedded withinthe scanner housing. In general, any of the automatically-activatedlaser scanning bar code symbol reading engines shown in FIGS. 6F, 7F,and 8C can be embodied within the scanner housing of the bar code symbolreading device.

As indicated in FIG. 1D, the automatically-activated bar code symbolscanning engine of the third general system design 30 comprises a numberof subsystems, namely: a laser-based bar code symbol detection subsystem31; a laser-based bar code symbol reading subsystem 32; a datatransmission subsystem 33; a state indication subsystem 34; a datatransmission activation switch or control device 35A integrated with thescanner housing (not shown) in part or whole; a mode-selection sensor35B integrated with the scanner housing it part or whole; and a systemcontrol subsystem 36 operably connected to the other subsystemsdescribed above. In general, the system 30 has a number of preprogrammedstates of operation, namely: a Bar Code Symbol Detection State; a Barcode Symbol Reading State; and a Data Transmission State.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1D, thelaser-based bar code symbol detection subsystem 31 performs thefollowing primary functions during the Bar Code Symbol Detection State:(i) automatically generates a pulsed visible laser scanning pattern ofpredetermined characteristics within a laser-based bar code (symbol)detection field 37, defined relative to the scanner housing, to enablescanning of a bar code symbol on the detected object; (ii) automaticallyprocesses scan data collected from the bar code symbol detection field37 and detects the presence of the bar code symbol thereon; and (iii)automatically generates a control activation signal A₂=1 indicativethereof in response to the automatic detection of the bar code symbol.As shown in FIG. 1D, the second control activation signal A₂ is providedto the system control subsystem 36 for detection, analysis andprogrammed response.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1D, thelaser-based bar code symbol reading subsystem 32 performs the followingfunctions during the Bar Code Symbol Reading State: (i) automaticallygenerates a visible laser scanning pattern of predeterminedcharacteristics within a laser-based bar code (symbol) reading field 38defined relative to the scanner housing, to enable scanning of thedetected bar code symbol therein; (ii) automatically decode-processesscan data collected from the bar code symbol reading field 38 so as todetect the bar code symbol on the detected object; (iii) automaticallygenerates a third control activation signal A₃=1 indicative of asuccessful decoding operation, and produces decoded symbol characterdata representative of the detected and read bar code symbol. As shownin FIG. 1D, the third control activation signal A₃ is provided to thesystem control subsystem 36 for detection, analysis and programmedresponse.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1D, during theData Transmission State, the data transmission subsystem 33automatically transmits produced symbol character data to the basestation only when the system control subsystem 36 detects the followingconditions: (1) generation of third control activation signal A₃=1within a predetermined time period, indicative that the bar code symbolhas been read; (ii) generation of data transmission control activationsignal A₄=1 (e.g. produced from manually-activatable switch 35A) withina predetermined time frame, indicative that user desires the producedbar code symbol character data string to be transmitted to the basestation; and (iii) generation of the in-range indication signal A₅=1during the predetermined time frame, indicative that the bar code symbolreading device is located within the predetermined RF-basedcommunication range of the system. Also, the data transmission subsystem33 during the Data Transmission State, automatically produces anaudible/visible indication and collects and stores produced symbolcharacter data string (aboard the device) when the system controlsubsystem detects the following conditions: (1) generation of thirdcontrol activation signal A₃=1 within a predetermined time period,indicative that the bar code symbol has been read; (ii) generation ofdata transmission control activation signal A₄=1 (e.g. produced frommanually-activatable switch 35A) within a predetermined time frame,indicative that user desires the produced bar code symbol character datastring to be transmitted to the base station; and (iii) generation ofthe out-of-range indication signal A₅=0 during the predetermined timeframe, indicative that the bar code symbol reader is located outside ofthe predetermined RF-based communication range of the system.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1D, thestate-selection sensor 35B has two primary functions: (i) toautomatically generate the fourth control activation signal A₄=1whenever the scanner housing has been placed within its support stand,or placed on a countertop or like surface in those instances where ithas been designed to do so, so that the system is automatically inducedinto its automatic hands-free mode of operation; and (ii) toautomatically generate the fourth control activation signal A₄=0whenever the scanner housing has been removed from its support stand, orlifted off of a countertop or like surface in those instances where ithas been designed to do so, so that the system is automatically inducedinto its automatic hands-on mode of operation. In the automatichands-free mode of operation, the mode-select sensor 35B effectivelyoverrides the data transmission switch 35A. In the automatic hands-onmode of operation, the data transmission switch 35A effectivelyoverrides the mode-select sensor 35B.

Within the context of the system design shown in FIG. 1D, the systemcontrol subsystem 36 performs the following primary functions: (i)automatically receiving control activation signals A₁, A₂, A₃ and A₄;(ii) automatically generating enable signals E₂, E₃, E₄, E₅, E₆, and E₇;and (iii) automatically controlling the operation of the othersubsystems in accordance with a system control program carried out bythe system control subsystem 36 during the various modes of systemoperation.

In general, the geometrical and optical characteristics of laserscanning patterns generated by the laser-based bar code symbol detectionsubsystem 31 and the laser-based bar code symbol reading subsystem 32will depend on each particular embodiment of the bar code symbol readingsystem of the present invention. In most applications, the laserscanning patterns generated within the bar code detection and readingfields will be substantially congruent, and if not substantiallycongruent, then arranged so that the bar code symbol reading fieldspatially-overlaps the bar code symbol detection field to improve thescanning efficiency of the system.

Initially, system control subsystem 36 provides enable signal E₂=1 tothe laser-based bar code detection subsystem 31. This causes thelaser-based bar code detection subsystem 31 to generate a pulsed laserscanning pattern of predetermined characteristics within the laser-basedbar code detection field 37. As shown in FIG. 26, the pulse-on durationof the laser signal is about 50%, while the pulse-off duration is alsoabout 50%. When the laser scanning pattern scans a bar code symbol onthe detected object, scan data signals are produced therefrom,collected, detected and processed to determine whether a bar code symbolhas been detected within the bar code symbol detection field 37. If thescanned bar code symbol is detected, then the system control subsystem36 automatically generates enable signal E₄=1 so as to activate the barcode symbol reading subsystem 32. In response thereto, the laser-basedbar code reading subsystem 32 automatically generates a visible laserscanning pattern within the laser-based bar code reading field 38, scansthe detected bar code symbol disposed therewithin, collects scan datatherefrom, decodes the detected bar code symbol, generates symbolcharacter data representative of the decoded bar code symbol, andbuffers the symbol character data in memory.

If the detected bar code symbol is read within a predetermined period oftime, the manually-actuated data transmission switch 35A is depressedwithin a predetermined time frame established by the system controlsubsystem 36, and Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 detects that thebar code symbol reader is located inside the predetermined RF datacommunication range of the system (A₅=1), then the system controlsubsystem 36 automatically activates the data transmission subsystem 33and transmits the buffered symbol character data string, produced atsubstantially the same time as the manual activation of the datatransmission switch, to the base station. In the illustrativeembodiment, this range-dependent condition is detected by detecting thestrength of “heartbeat” signals transmitted from the base station to thewireless hand-supportable device.

If, however, the detected bar code symbol is read within a predeterminedperiod of time, the manually-actuated data transmission switch 35A isdepressed within a predetermined time frame established by the systemcontrol subsystem 36, and Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 detectsthat the bar code symbol reader is located outside of the predeterminedRF data communication range of the system (A₅=0), then the systemcontrol subsystem 36 automatically activates the data transmissionsubsystem 33, generates an audible and/or visual indicator, andtransmitts the packaged symbol character data string to a data storagebuffer aboard the bar code symbol reader (or a portable data collectiondevice connected thereto).

Then when the bar code symbol reader is moved within the predeterminedRF-based data communication range of the system, the Bluetooth® RF-basedtransceiver chipset automatically detects this condition, and thenbuffered/packaged symbol character data is automatically transmitted tothe base station by the RF-based data communication link of the system.This wireless hand-held scanning system design offers operatorsconvenience and freedom of mobility, ideal for use in point-of-sale(POS) environments and/or light warehousing applications.

In the third general system design of FIG. 1D, there is no provision forautomatic object detection within the system, but simply acontinuously-operating bar code symbol presence detection subsystem isprovided for automatic detection of bar codes within the scanning fieldof the system. The laser-based bar code symbol detection subsystem 31 isrealized from various electro-optical and electromechanical componentsassembled together, so as to enable automatic detection of bar codesymbols on detected objects within the laser-based bar code detectionfield of the system, and transmission of symbol character data to thebase station when the bar code reader is located within itspredetermined data communication range, and storage of the producedsymbol character data when the bar code reading device is locatedoutside the range thereof (and automatic transmission of the buffereddata when the bar code symbol reading device is moved back within thedata communication range of the system. Also, the laser-based bar codesymbol reading subsystem is realized from various electro-optical andelectro-mechanical components assembled together, so as to enableautomatic reading of detected bar code symbols within the laser-basedbar code reading field of the system. As will be described in greaterdetail hereinafter, this system design requires an even simpler controlsubsystem architecture than system designs employing automatic objectdetection. However, this system design requires that a low-power(non-visible) laser beam be continuously or periodically generatedwithin the bar code symbol detection field during system operation, thusconsuming electrical power which can be significant in portable andmobile scanning applications where battery power is used.

While each of the three generalized bar code symbol reading systemsdescribed hereinabove can be connected to its base unit, host computer,data processor, data storage device, or like device by way of wireswrapped in a flexible cord-like structure, it will be preferred in manyembodiments to connect the bar code symbol reading system of the presentinvention, via its base unit, to a host computer, data processor or datastorage device or like device by way of either a wired or wireless datacommunication link supporting various different types of datacommunication interfaces disclosed, for example in U.S. Pat. Nos.4,460,120; 5,321,246 and 5,142,550, and WIPO Publication No. WO03/024190 published Mar. 27, 2003, each incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

First Illustrative Embodiment of Automatically-Activated Bar Code SymbolReading System of the Present Invention

As shown in FIGS. 2A to 2H, the wireless bar code symbol reading systemof the first illustrative embodiment 40 comprises anautomatically-activated portable bar code symbol reading device 41operably associated with a base unit 42 having a scanner support stand43. Bar code symbol reading device 41 is operably connected with its thebase unit 42 by way of a one-way or two-way electromagnetic linkestablished between bar code symbol reading device 41 and its mated baseunit 42. After each successful reading of a bar code symbol by the barcode symbol reading device 41, symbol character data (representative ofthe read bar code symbol) is generated, and if timely activated, thensubsequently produces symbol character data collected from the same readbar code symbol which is automatically transmitted to the base station42 in accordance with the wireless RF-based data communication method ofthe present invention, and ultimately to a host system 45 to which thebase station is interfaced. The wireless RF-based data communicationmethod of the present invention will be described in greater detailhereinafter with reference to FIGS. 13A1 and 13A2. In the illustrativeembodiments, operable interconnection between the base unit 42 and thehost system (e.g. electronic cash register system, data collectiondevice, etc.) 45 is achieved using a flexible multiwire communicationscable 46 extending from the base unit and plugged directly into thedata-input communications port of the host computer system 45.

In the illustrative embodiment, electrical power from a low voltagedirect current (DC) power supply (not shown) is provided to the baseunit by way of a flexible power cable 47. Notably, this DC power supplycan be realized in host computer system 45 or as a separate DC powersupply adapter pluggable into a conventional 3-prong electrical socket.As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, a rechargeablebattery power supply unit 55 is contained within bar code symbol readingdevice 41 in order to energize the electrical and electro-opticalcomponents within the device.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, scanner support stand 43 isparticularly adapted for receiving and supporting portable bar codesymbol reading device 41 in a selected position without user support,thus providing a stationary, automatic hands-free mode of operation. Ingeneral, portable bar code reading device 41 includes an ultra-lightweight hand-supportable housing 49 having a contoured head portion 49Aand a handle portion 49B. As will be described in greater detailhereinafter, head portion 49A encloses electro-optical components whichare used to generate and project a visible laser beam through lighttransmissive window 50 in housing head portion 49A, and to repeatedlyscan the projected laser beam across its bar code detecting scanningfield 10 and bar code reading field 11, both defined external to thehand-supportable housing.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the scanner support stand portion 43includes a support frame which comprises a base portion 51A, a headportion support structure 511B, handle portion support structure 51C anda finger accommodating recess 51D. As shown, base portion 51A has alongitudinal extent and is adapted for selective positioning withrespect to a support surface, e.g. countertop surface, counter wallsurface, etc. An aperture 51A1 is formed in the base portion 51A toallow a piezo-electric transducer 559 to generate acousticalacknowledgement signals therethrough upon successful data transmissionto the base unit. Head portion support structure 51B is connected tobase portion 51A, for receiving and supporting the head portion of barcode symbol reading device 41. Similarly, handle portion supportstructure 5 IC is connected to base portion 51A, for receiving andsupporting the handle portion of the code symbol reading device. Inorder that the user's hand can completely grasp the handle portion ofthe hand-supportable bar code reading device, (i.e. prior to removing itoff and away from the scanner support stand), finger-accommodatingrecess 51D is disposed between head and handle portion supportstructures 51B and 51C and base portion 51A of the support frame. Inthis way, finger-accommodating recess 51D is laterally accessible sothat when the head and handle portions 49A and 49B are received withinand supported by head portion support structure 51B and handle portionsupport structure 51C, respectively, the fingers of a user's hand can beeasily inserted through finger accommodating recess 51D and completelyencircle the handle portion of the hand-supportable device.

As shown in FIG. 2E, bar code symbol reading device 41 includes amode-selector sensor 800 (e.g. electronic of electrical/mechanicalsensor) located on the end portion of the hand-supportable housing. Whenthe housing is placed in its stand, the mode select sensor 800automatically senses the stand (or countertop surface) and generates adata transmission control activation signal A₄=1, which overrides thedata transmission activation switch 44 on the housing during thehands-free mode of operation when the bar code symbol reading device ispicked up out of the housing, the mode-select sensor 800 generates A₄=0,which is overridden by the date transmission activation switch 44 in thehands-on mode of operation.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2A through 2D, the head portion of housing 49Ahas a light transmission aperture 50 formed in upper portion of thefront panel 52A, to permit visible laser light to exit and enter thehousing, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter. The lowerportion of front panel 52B is optically opaque, as are all othersurfaces of the hand supportable housing.

As best shown in FIGS. 2E and 2F, an automatically-activatedlaser-scanning bar code symbol reading engine 53 is securely mountedwithin the head portion of hand-supportable housing 49A, while a printedcircuit (PC) board 54 and a rechargeable battery supply unit 55 aremounted within the handle portion of the hand-supportable housing 49B. Adata packet transmission circuit 56 is realized on PC board 54 inhousing 49B and is operably connected to bar code symbol reading engine53 contained therein by way of a first flexible wire harness 57.Electrical power is supplied from rechargeable battery 55 to the datapacket transmission circuit 56 and the bar code symbol reading engine 53by way of a second flexible wire harness 58. As shown, a transmittingantenna 59 is operably connected to the data packet transmission circuit56 on PC board 54 and is mounted within hand-supportable housing portion49B for transmission of a data packet modulated RF carrier signal to thebase unit associated with the wireless automatic bar code symbol readingsystem.

In general, any of the bar code symbol reading engines disclosed inFIGS. 6A, 7A and 8A can be incorporated within the hand-supportablehousing of the wireless bar code symbol reading system 40 shown in FIGS.2A through 2H, with little or no modifications to the form factorthereof. When incorporated into the hand-supportable housing 49 asshown, each of these laser scanning engines, indicated by referencenumeral 53 in FIGS. 2A through 2H, will enable the automatic generationof: an IR-based object detection field 9 projected along thelongitudinal scanning axis 60 of the device housing in response to thepowering-up of the engine; a laser-based bar code symbol detection field10, in response to automatic detection of objects within the IR-basedobject detection field 9; and a laser-based bar code symbol readingfield 11 in response to automatic detection of bar code symbols withinthe laser-based bar code symbol detection field 10 consistent with thestructure and functions depicted in the schematic diagram of FIG. 1B.During system operations, the system states are visually indicated bythe state indicator light strip 61 mounted on the exterior of thescanner housing, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2H. As will be described ingreater detail hereinafter, laser scanning bar code symbol readingengine 53 has a similar system architecture schematically illustrated inFIGS. 10A1 through 100. The system control process underlying thisgeneralized system design is illustrated in the flow chart set forth inFIGS. 14A1 through 14C4. The states of operation of this generalizedsystem design are described in the state transition diagram of FIG. 15.

Second Illustrative Embodiment of Wireless Automaticallv-Activated BarCode Symbol Reading System of the Present Invention

In FIG. 2I, the second illustrative embodiment of the wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system hereof 40′ isshown comprising a hand-supportable automatically-activated bar codesymbol reading device 41′ and a base unit 42 in communication therewithachieved using a one-way or two way data communication link 63. Asshown, this automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system 40′is similar to bar code symbol reading system 40 shown in FIGS. 2Athrough 2H, in all but a few respects. In particular, the bar codesymbol reading device of FIG. 2I may incorporate within itshand-supportable housing 49, any of the laser scanning engines disclosedin FIGS. 6E, 7E and 8B, with little or no modifications to the formfactor thereof. When incorporated into hand-supportable housing 49 asshown in FIG. 2I, each of these laser scanning engines indicated byreference numeral 53′, will enable automatic generation of: a low-powerlaser-based object detection field 23 in response to the powering-up ofthe laser scanning engine; a laser-based bar code symbol detection field24 generated in response to automatic object detection within thelaser-based object detection field 23; and a laser-based bar code symbolreading field 25 generated in response to automatic bar code symboldetection within the laser-based bar code symbol detection field 24consistent with the structure and functions depicted in the schematicdiagram of FIG. 1B. Each of these laser scanning bar code symbol readingengines have a general system architecture as described in WOPublication No WO 00/33239 published Jun. 8, 2000, with primarydifferences relating to the use of the laser source to realize alaser-based object detection field, as well as bar code symbol detectionand reading fields.

Third Illustrative Embodiment of Wireless Automatically-Activated BarCode Symbol Reading System of the Present Invention

In FIG. 2J, the third illustrative embodiment of the wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system hereof 40″ isshown comprising a hand-supportable automatically-activated bar codesymbol reading device 41″ and a base unit in communication therewithachieved using two way RF-based data communication link 63 usingBluetooth® RF transceiver chipset technology. As shown, thisautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system 40″ is similar tothe bar code symbol reading system 40 shown in FIGS. 2A through 2H in WOPublication No. WO 00/33239, in all but a few respects. In particular,any of the laser scanning engines disclosed in FIGS. 6F, 7F and 8F canbe incorporated into the bar code symbol reading device of FIG. 2J, withlittle or no modifications to the form factor thereof. Each of theselaser scanning bar code symbol reading engines have a general systemarchitecture as described in WO Publication No. WO 00/33239, withprimary differences relating to the use of the laser source to realizebar code symbol detection and reading fields, while no object detectionfield of any sort is provided therein.

When incorporated into hand-supportable housing 49, each of these laserscanning engines indicated by 53″ in FIG. 2J will enable automaticgeneration of: a laser-based bar code symbol detection field 37 inresponse to the powering-up of the laser scanning engine, and alaser-based bar code symbol reading field 38 in response to automaticbar code symbol detection within the laser-based bar code symboldetection field 37, consistent with the structures and functionsdepicted in the schematic diagram of FIG. 1C. As will be described ingreater detail hereinafter, each of these laser scanning bar code symbolreading engines have the same general system architecture schematicallyillustrated in FIGS. 25A through 26 in WO Publication No. WO 00/33239.The system control process underlying this generalized system design isillustrated in the flow chart set forth in FIGS. 27A through 27C of WOPublication No. WO 00/33239. The states of operation of this generalizedsystem design are described in the state transition diagram of FIG. 28in WO Publication No. WO 00/33239.

Fourth Illustrative Embodiment of Wireless Automatically-Activated BarCode Symbol Reading System of The Present Invention

In FIGS. 3A to 3C, the fourth illustrative embodiment of the wirelessbar code symbol reading system hereof 130 is shown in the form of ahand-held integrated bar code symbol scanning terminal (“IntegratedScanning Terminal”) 131 embodying any one or more of the generalizedInternet access methods described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,076,733,5,922,752, and 5,905,248, each being incorporated herein by reference.As shown in FIG. 6A, the Integrated Scanning Terminal 131 is connectedto an ISP 132 by way of a radio-based station 133 and wireless links 134and 135. The hand-held Internet Scanning Terminal 131 has an integratedGUI-based web browser program, display panel 136, touch-screen typekeypad 137, and programmed automatic laser scanning bar code symbolreading engine 53. The function of bar code symbol reading engine 53 isto read a 1-D or 2-D bar code symbol 138 that is encoded withinformation of a specified data type. Such information can represent:(i) the URL of a Web page to be accessed by the Terminal 131; (ii) theidentity of a product or object; or (iii) any type of information thatserves to identify an object, specify a process, or specify the locationof an object, on an information network or in a system.

In the illustrative embodiment, the Internet Scanning Terminal 131 isrealized as a transportable computer, such as the Palm Pilot® portabledata terminal from Palm, Inc., or like device. In the illustrativeembodiment, the Internet-Scanning Terminal is provided with InternetAccess Software which supports the TCP/IP networking protocol, as wellas HTTP within the operating system. The Terminal 131 is also equippedwith a PCMCIA-based modem card 138 having a Bluetooth® RF transceiverchipset, to be described in greater detail hereinafter, for establishing(as illustrated in FIGS. 13A1 and 13A2) a 2-way RF-based wirelessdigital communication link with base station 133 also having aBluetooth® RF transceiver chipset. While it is understood that, in someinstances, it may be desired to connect a pen or wand device to theserial port of the Terminal 131 to provide bar code symbol readingcapabilities thereto, it is preferred that automatic laser scanningengine 53 be interfaced with the serial communications port of theTerminal 131 so as to realize the Internet-based Transaction-EnablingSystem of the illustrative embodiment hereof.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the entire Terminal 131, bar code symbol readingengine 53 (or other scanning engine) and auxiliary battery supply areintensified and completely housed within a rubberized shock-proofhousing 141, in order to provide a hand-supportable unitary device. Oncethe object (e.g. transaction card) 142 is detected by the objectdetection field 9, a laser beam is automatically projected within thebar code symbol detection field 10, and swept across the bar code symbol138 present therewithin, and upon detection, the laser beam isautomatically swept across the bar code symbol reading field 11 in orderto collect scan data therefrom, and decode the same and produce symbolcharacter data representative of the read bar code symbol. Thereupon,the Internet Scanning Terminal 131 automatically produces a bar codesymbol read indication signal (e.g. in the form of a graphical icon ormessage 144 on the LCD panel 136) for the user to perceive. If and whenthe user manually-actuates in a timely manner the data transmissionactivation switch 145 provided on the side of the rubber housing 141, oremulated on the display surface of the LCD panel 136 in the form of agraphical icon 145′, then the Internet Scanning Terminal 131automatically transmits subsequently produced symbol character data forthe same bar code symbol to the intended host system (e.g. located at anIP address on the Internet 139), or to on-board data storage memorylocated within the Internet Scanning Terminal, or to another storagedevice in communication with the terminal 131.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the bar code symbol reading engines shown in FIGS.6A, 7A and 8A, for example, can be easily installed within the headportion of the bar code symbol reading device 130 without requiring anymodification thereto. When incorporated into hand-supportable housing141 as shown, each of these laser scanning engines indicated byreference to numeral 53 in FIG. 3A, will enable the automatic generationof: an IR-based object detection field 9 for automatically detectingobjects presented therewithin; a laser-based bar code symbol detectionfield 10 in response to automatic detection of objects within theIR-based object detection field 9; and a laser-based bar code symbolreading field 11 in response to automatic detection of bar code symbolswithin the laser-based bar code symbol detection field 10, consistentwith the structure and functions depicted in the schematic diagram ofFIG. 1A. As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, each ofthese laser scanning bar code symbol reading engines have the samegeneral system architecture schematically illustrated in FIGS. 10A1through 12. The system control process underlying this generalizedsystem design is illustrated in the flow chart set forth in FIGS. 14A1through 14C4. The states of operation of this generalized system designare described in the state transition diagram of FIG. 15.

Fifth Illustrative Embodiment of Wireless Automatically-Activated BarCode Symbol Reading System of the Present Invention

In FIG. 3B, the fifth illustrative embodiment of the wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system hereof 130′ isshown comprising: a hand-supportable laser scanning bar code symbolreading device 140′ adapted for support within a user's hand; and a basestation 133 in data communication with the hand-supportable bar codereading device 140′ using the two-way RF-based data communication link134 of the present invention (illustrated in FIGS. 13A1 and 13A2), andin communication with the Internet Information Server maintained by theISP 132 using a two-way data communication link 135. As shown, thisautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system 130′ is similarto the bar code symbol reading system 130 shown in FIG. 3A, in all but afew respects. The bar code symbol reading device of FIG. 3B mayincorporate within its hand-supportable housing 141′, any of the laserscanning engines disclosed in FIGS. 6E, 7E and 8C, with little or nomodifications to the form factor thereof.

Sixth Illustrative Embodiment of Wireless Automatically-Activated BarCode Symbol Reading System of the Present Invention

In FIG. 3C, the sixth illustrative embodiment of the wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system hereof 130″ isshown comprising: a hand-supportable laser scanning bar code symbolreading device 140″ adapted for support within a user's hand; and a basestation 133 in data communication with the hand-supportable bar codereading device 140″ using a two-way data communication link 134 of thetype disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,460,120; and 5,321,246, incorporatedherein by reference, and in communication with the Internet InformationServer maintained by the ISP 132 using a two-way RF-based datacommunication link 135. As shown, this automatically-activated bar codesymbol reading system is similar to the bar code symbol reading system130 shown in FIG. 3A, in all but a few ways. The bar code symbol readingdevice of FIG. 3C can incorporate within its hand-supportable housing,any of the laser scanning engines disclosed in FIGS. 6F, 7F, and 8C,with little or no modification to the form factor thereof.

Seventh Illustrative Embodiment of Wireless Automatically-Activated BarCode Symbol Reading System of the Present Invention

In FIG. 4A, the seventh illustrative embodiment of the wirelessautomatically-activated omni-directional bar code symbol reading systemhereof 150 is shown comprising: an automatically-activated portable barcode symbol reading device 151 operably associated with a base unit 152having a scanner support stand 153 pivotally connected thereto, forreleasably supporting the automatic bar code symbol reading device 151at any one of a number of positions above of a counter surface at aPoint of Sale (POS) station. In the preferred embodiment, the bar codesymbol reading device 151 is operably connected with its the basestation unit 152 by way of a one way electromagnetic link 154 betweenbar code symbol reading device 151 and its mated base unit 152. Afterthe successful reading of each bar code symbol by the bar code symbolreading device and the timely activation of data transmission activationswitch 155, subsequently produced symbol character data (from the samebar code symbol) is transmitted to the basest station unit over the2-way RF link (154) and thence to the host system (e.g. electronic cashregister system, data collection device, etc.) 156 by way of a flexiblemulti-wire communications cable 157 extending from the base unit 152 andplugged directly into the data-input communications port of the hostcomputer system 156.

In the illustrative embodiment, electrical power from a low voltagedirect current (DC) power supply (not shown) is provided to the baseunit by way of a flexible power cable 159. Notably, this DC power supplycan be realized in host computer system 156 or as a separate DC powersupply adapter pluggable into a conventional 3-prong electrical socket.In other embodiments of the present invention, cables 157 and 158 can beintegrated to provide a single flexible, multi-wire cable fortransmission of power to the base unit and data to the host system. Aswill be described in greater detail hereinafter, a rechargeable batterypower supply unit 160 is contained primarily within the handle portionof the bar code symbol reading device 151 in order to energize theelectrical and electro-optical components within the device.

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, scanner support stand 153 is particularlyadapted for receiving and supporting portable bar code symbol readingdevice 151 without user support, thus providing a stationary, automatichands-free mode of operation. In general, portable bar code symbolreading device 151 includes an ultra-light weight hand-supportablehousing 161 having a head portion 161A and a contoured handle portion161B. As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, head portion161A encloses a laser scanning bar code symbol reading engine 53 capableof producing a highly collimated scanning pattern 162 through lighttransmission window 168 for the purpose of scanning bar code symbols onobjects within a narrowly confined-scanning (i.e. 3-D scanning field)volume 164, while preventing unintentional scanning of bar code symbolson objects located outside thereof at point of sale (POS) stations.

Preferably, the stand portion 153 of the base unit 152 is pivotallysupported with respect to the base portion 162 by way of pivot pinsmounted within the base portion. In order to releasably hold the standportion of the base unit relative to the base portion thereof in any oneof a number of provided scanning positions, a releasable stand-lockingmechanism is provided within the base portion. Preferably, pivot is usedto pivotally connect the upper and lower sections 166 and 167 togetherfor easy rotation of the base unit relative to the support surface.

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the head portion 161A of the hand-supportablehousing has a light transmission window 168 mounted over the entirelight transmission aperture 163. A rubber bumper 169 protects the edgeof the housing when dropped or set down. Also, a set of color-codedstate indicator lights 170 are mounted on the head portion of the devicehousing 161A, for visually displaying the particular state in which thesystem resides at any instant of time. Notably, the color-coding schemeshown in FIG. 2C can be used. In general, any of the laser scanningengines disclosed in FIGS. 6A, 7A and 8A can be incorporated within thehand-supportable housing of the bar code symbol reading system shown inFIG. 4A, with little or no modifications to the form factor thereof.

Eighth Illustrative Embodiment of Wireless Automatically-Activated BarCode Symbol Reading System of the Present Invention

In FIG. 4B, the eighth illustrative embodiment of the wirelessautomatically-activated omni-directional bar code symbol reading systemhereof 150′ is shown comprising: a hand-supportable laser scanning barcode symbol reading device 151′ adapted for support within a user'shand; and a base station 152 in data communication with thehand-supportable bar code reading device 151′ using a two-way RF-baseddata communication link 154 as illustrated in FIGS. 13A1 and 13A2. Asshown, this automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system 150′is similar to the bar code symbol reading system 150 shown in FIG. 3A,in all but a few respects. In general, any of the laser scanning enginesdisclosed in FIGS. 6E, 7E, and 8B can be installed directly within thehead portion of the bar code symbol reading device shown in FIG. 4B withlittle or no modification to the form factor thereto.

Ninth Illustrative Embodiment of Wireless Automatically-Activated BarCode Symbol Reading System of the Present Invention

In FIG. 4C, the ninth illustrative embodiment of the wirelessautomatically-activated omni-directional bar code symbol reading systemhereof 150″ is shown comprising: a hand-supportable laser scanning barcode symbol reading device 151″ adapted for support within a user'shand; and a base station 152 in data communication with thehand-supportable bar code reading device 151″ using a two-way datacommunication link 154″ as illustrated in FIGS. 13A 1 and 13A2, to bedescribed greater detail hereinafter. As shown, thisautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system 790 is similar tothe bar code symbol reading system 150 shown in FIG. 4A, in all but afew respects. In general, the bar code symbol reading device of FIG. 4Ccan incorporate within its hand-supportable housing 161A, any of thelaser scanning engines disclosed in FIGS. 6F, 7F, and 8C, with little orno modification to the form factor thereof.

Tenth Illustrative Embodiment of Wireless Automatically-Activated BarCode Symbol Reading System of the Present Invention

In FIGS. 5A through 5D, the tenth illustrative embodiment of thewireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system hereof790 is shown comprising: a hand-supportable laser scanning bar codesymbol reading device 791 adapted for support within a user's hand; anda base station 792 in data communication with the hand-supportable barcode reading device 791 using a two-way data communication link of thepresent invention as illustrated in FIGS. 13A1 and 13A2, and to bedescribed hereinafter. In this illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention, as well as in others, the operation of the data transmissionactivation switch 330 is essentially controlled (i.e. conditioned) bythe automatic detection of the hand-supportable wireless device beingphysically located within the predetermined RF communication range ofthe RF-based data communication link (i.e. system), involving thedetection of the strength of “heartbeat” signals transmitted from thebase station to the wireless hand-supportable device, as shown in FIGS.13A1 and 13A2.

In general, the hand-supportable bar code symbol reading device 790shown in FIGS. 5A through 5D can incorporate within its hand-supportablehousing, any of the 1D and 2D laser scanning engines disclosed in FIGS.6A, 6E 7A, 7E and 8A, 8B, and also any of the omnidirectional laserscanning engines disclosed in FIGS. 6F, 7F, and 8C, perhaps with slightmodification to the form factor thereof in particular embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 5E and 5F, the retractable/protractable support hook793 is integrated within the cradle-providing base station 792 for twogeneral kinds of installation, namely: (i) vertical installations,wherein the automatic hand-supportable laser scanning bar code symbolreading device 790 can be supported in a vertical position when theprotractable/retractable hinged support hook 793 is arranged in itsprotracted configuration as shown in FIGS. 5E1 and 5F; and (ii)horizontal installations, wherein the automatic hand-supportable laserscanning bar code symbol reading device 790 can be supported in ahorizontal position when the protractable/retractable hinged supporthook 793 is arranged in its retracted configuration as shown in FIGS. 5Gand 5H. protracted configuration. This feature permits the cradle/basestation to be easily mounted to either a desk or to a wall surface. FIG.5I shows an elevated side view of the cradle-supporting base station 792employed in the system of FIGS. 5A through 5D, with its support hook 793arranged in its retracted configuration. FIG. 5J shows an elevated sideview of the cradle-supporting base station 792 employed in the system ofFIGS. 5A through 5D, with its support hook 793 arranged in its Notably,the wireless 2-way RF-based data communication method of the presentinvention is permitted to work substantially the same in each of thesebase station installations.

As shown in the figures, the power switch for the wireless bar codesymbol reader is located at the rear end of housing of the reader, andis accessible by way of a small pin hole 2000. With this feature, theoperator can disconnect the battery using the power switch at the rearof the reader. This switching mechanism provides a simple way to saveelectrical power and will protect the battery aboard the wireless barcode symbol reader. In addition, this switch can serve as a hardwarereset button when something is wrong with the wireless bar code reader.Having described various illustrative embodiments of the wirelessautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of the presentinvention in great detail above, it is appropriate at this juncture tonow describe in greater detail, each of the nine illustrativeembodiments of the automatically-activated laser scanning engines hereofthat can be readily incorporated into the above-described embodiments ofthe wireless bar code symbol reading systems of the present invention.

Automatically-Activated Laser Scanning Engine for Producing IR-BasedObject Detection Field, One-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code SymbolDetection Field, and One-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Symbol ReadingField

As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D, the first illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading engine hereof 200comprises: a miniature engine housing 201 realized as small as asugar-cube using presently available enabling technology, having a lowerhousing (i.e. base) portion 202A and an upper housing (i.e. cover)portion 202B; a laser scanning module 203 for producing and scanning alaser beam across a scanning field (i.e. bar code symbol detectionfield, and bar code symbol reading field); a PC board 204 for supportingelectronic circuits used to realize the subsystems and subcomponentsthereof shown in FIGS. 10A1 through 10O, including a photodetector 226coupled to analog and digital signal processing circuits and aninfra-red transmitter 206A and an infrared receiver 206B coupled to theobject detection subsystem realized on PC board, as taught in U.S. Pat.No. 5,808,285; and a scanning window 227 for covering the transmissionaperture 228 of the engine housing, and providing the optical functionstaught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,789,731 incorporated herein by reference.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, light transmission aperture 228 is formedin the side of the lower housing portion 202A of the engine housing toallow the laser beam produced therewithin to exit the housing. Anotheraperture 212, coincident with photodetector 205, is formed in the frontside lower surface of housing portion 202A, to allow return laser lightto be detected by photodetector 226. In the illustrative embodiment,light transmission aperture 228 permits IR light to exit and enter thelower housing portion 202A, as shown. To permit a flexible wire harnessto interconnect with the circuitry on PC board 204 by way of aconventional connector 210, an input/output aperture (not shown) isformed in the rear side panel of the lower housing portion 202A. With PCboards 204 installed within the interior of the lower housing portion202A, the upper housing portion 202B is snap-fitted with the lowerhousing portion 202A and fastened thereto using a set of machine screws(not shown).

Notably, the bar code symbol reading engine of FIG. 6A embodies thesystem architecture shown in FIGS. 10A1 through 12, which carries outthe control process illustrated in FIGS. 14A1 through 14C4, anddescribed by the state transition diagram of FIG. 15. Also, the producedoutput from this bar code symbol reading engine 200 is an RF carriersignal modulated by a serial data packet stream in response to severalevents, namely: (i) generation of symbol character data strings from theautomatic bar code symbol reading engine 200; (ii) the manual actuationof the data transmission switch mounted on the exterior of the scannerhousing; and (iii) the generation of in-range indication signal A₅=1from the Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 embodied within thehand-supportable bar code reading device in which the engine isintegrated.

Automatically-Activated Laser Scanning Engine for Producing Laser-BasedObject Detection Field, One-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code DetectionField, and One-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Reading Field

In FIG. 6E, the second illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated bar code symbol reading engine hereof 200′comprises: a miniature engine housing 201 realized as small as asugar-cube using presently available enabling technology, having a lowerhousing (i.e. base) portion 202A and an upper housing (i.e. cover)portion 202B; a laser scanning module 203 as disclosed in co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 09/071,512 filed May 1, 1998, incorporated herebyreference, for producing and scanning a laser beam across a scanningfield; a PC board 204 (similar to that shown in FIG. 9B) for supportingelectronic circuits used to realize the subsystems shown in FIGS. 22A1through 22C of WO Publication No. WO 00/33239, including a photodetector226 coupled to analog and digital signal processing circuits realized onPC board 204, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,285; and a scanningwindow 227 for covering the transmission aperture 228 of the enginehousing, and providing the optical functions taught in U.S. Pat. No.5,789,731 incorporated herein by reference. In all but a few respects,the bar code symbol reading engine 200′ is similar to the bar codesymbol engine 200 of FIG. 6A, except that the engine 200′ shown in FIG.6E generates a laser-based object detection field (23), rather than anIR-based object detection field 9. The produced output from this barcode symbol reading engine is an RF carrier signal modulated by a serialdata packet stream in response to several events, namely: (i) generationof symbol character data strings from the automatic bar code symbolreading engine 200; (ii) the manual actuation of the data transmissionswitch mounted on the exterior of the scanner housing; and (iii) thegeneration of in-range indication signal A₅=1 from the Bluetooth® RFtransceiver chipset 803 embodied within the hand-supportable bar codereading device in which the engine is integrated.

Notably, the bar code symbol reading engine of FIG. 6E embodies thesystem architecture shown in FIGS. 22A1-22C of WO Publication No. WO00/33239, and carries out the control process illustrated in FIGS. 23A1through 23E thereof, and bounded by the state transition diagram of FIG.24 shown therein. As will be described in greater detail hereinafter,the laser-based objection detection field 23 can be generated by drivinga conventional VLD so as to produce a low-power, non-visible (orotherwise imperceptible) pulsed laser beam during the object detectionmode of operation, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,538, incorporatedherein by reference. In this mode of operation, the same photodetector226 used to detect reflected laser light, during the laser-based barcode symbol and reading modes of operation, can be used to detect thenon-visible laser return signal during the object detection mode ofoperation. In this illustrative embodiment, the non-visible pulsed lasersignal, reflected off an object present in the laser-based objectdetection field 23, and detected by photodetector 226, is processed soas to detect the presence of the object located therewithin andautomatically generate a control activation signal A₁=1, indicative ofsuch automatic object detection. In all other respects, the bar codesymbol reading engine of FIG. 6E is substantially similar to the barcode symbol reading engine of FIG. 6A.

Automatically-Activated Laser Scanning Engine for ProducingOne-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Detection Field, andOne-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Reading Without Object DetectionField

In FIG. 6F, the third illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning engine 200″ is shown comprising:a miniature engine housing 201 realized as small as a sugar-cube usingpresently available enabling technology, having a lower housing (i.e.base) portion 202A and an upper housing (i.e. cover) portion 202B; alaser scanning module 203 as disclosed in copending application Ser. No.09/071,512 filed May 1, 1998, now abandoned, incorporated herebyreference, for producing and scanning a laser beam across a scanningfield; a PC board 204 (similar to that shown in FIG. 9B) for supportingelectronic circuits used to realize the subsystems shown in FIGS. 25Athrough 26 of WIPO Publication No. WO 00/33239, including aphotodetector 226 coupled to analog and digital signal processingcircuits realized on PC board 204, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,285;and a scanning window 227 for covering the transmission aperture 228 ofthe engine housing, and providing the optical functions taught in U.S.Pat. No. 5,789,731 incorporated herein by reference.

Notably, the bar code symbol reading engine of FIG. 6F embodies thesystem architecture shown in FIGS. 25A through 26 of WIPO PublicationNo. WO 00/33239, and carries out the control process illustrated inFIGS. 27A through 27C thereof, and bounded by the state transitiondiagram of FIG. 28 shown therein. In all but a few respects, the barcode symbol reading engine 200″ of FIG. 6F is similar to the bar codesymbol engines of FIGS. 6A and 6E, except that the bar code symbolreading engine of FIG. 6F does not generate any sort of object detectionfield. The produced output from this bar code symbol reading engine isan RF carrier signal modulated by a serial data packet stream inresponse to several events, namely: (i) generation of symbol characterdata strings from the automatic bar code symbol reading engine 200; (ii)the manual actuation of the data transmission switch mounted on theexterior of the scanner housing; and (iii) the generation of in-rangeindication signal A₅=1 from the Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803embodied within the hand-supportable bar code reading device in whichthe engine is integrated.

Automatically-Activated Laser Scanning Engine for Producing IR-BasedObject Detection Field Two-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code DetectionField, and Two-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Detection Field

In FIGS. 7A through 7D, the fourth illustrated embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning engine hereof 230 is showncomprising: a miniature engine housing 231 realized as small as asugar-cube using presently available enabling technology, having a lowerhousing (i.e. base) portion 231A and an upper housing (i.e. cover)portion 231B; a x-y laser scanning module 232 as disclosed in WIPOPublication No. WO 99/57579 published Nov. 11, 1999, incorporated herebyreference presented on the inside surface of housing cover portion 231B,for producing and scanning a laser beam across a scanning field; a PCboard 233 for supporting electronic circuits used to realize thesubsystems and subcomponents thereof shown in FIGS. 15A1 through 16,including a photodetector 234 coupled to analog and digital signalprocessing circuits on the PC board 233, and an infra-red transmitter235 and an infrared receiver 236 coupled to the IR-based objectdetection circuit of the engine realized on PC board 233, as taught inU.S. Pat. No. 5,808,285; and a scanning window 237 for covering thetransmission aperture 238 of the engine housing, and providing theoptical functions taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,789,731 incorporated hereinby reference. Notably, the bar code symbol reading engine of FIG. 7Aembodies the system architecture shown in FIGS. 10A1 through 10O, whichcarries out the control process illustrated in FIGS. 14A1 through 14C4,and bounded by the state transition diagram of FIG. 15.

As shown in FIG. 7D, the underside surface of the upper housing portion213B functions as an optical bench (i.e. platform) whereupon themajority of optical and electro-optical components of the x-y laserscanning mechanism are strategically mounted. As shown in FIG. 7D, thelower housing portion 231A supports PC board 233, on which the circuitsof FIG. 10A 1 through 10O are realized using surface-mount componentsand like technology known in the art. As illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7D,the output laser beam 251 is scanned over the x and y direction of its2D laser scanning field which functions as the bar code symbol detectionfield during bar code symbol detection mode of operation, and the barcode symbol reading field during the bar code symbol reading mode ofoperation. Optionally, the data transmission subsystem can be realizedon PC board 233 while the transmitting antenna 240, connected to PCboard 233, is mounted onto the exterior of engine housing.

The produced output from this embodiment of the bar code symbol readingengine is a RF carrier signal modulated by a serial data stream inresponse to the occurrence of the following events: (i) generation ofsymbol character data strings from the automatic bar code symbol readingengine 200; (ii) the manual actuation of the data transmission switchmounted on the exterior of the scanner housing; and (iii) the generationof in-range indication signal A₅=1 from the Bluetooth® RF transceiverchipset 803 embodied within the hand-supportable bar code reading devicein which the engine is integrated.

Automatically-Activated Laser Scanning Engine for Producing Laser-BasedObject Detection Field, Two-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code DetectionField, and Two-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Detection Field

In FIG. 7E, the fifth illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning engine hereof 230′ is shown. Innearly all but a few respects, the bar code symbol reading engine ofFIG. 7E is substantially similar to the bar code symbol reading engineof FIG. 7A, except that the engine of FIG. 7E produces a laser-baseddetection field similar, in principle, to the one produced by the engineof FIG. 6E. Notably, the bar code symbol reading engine of FIG. 7Eembodies the system architecture shown in FIGS. 22A1 through 22C of WIPOPublication No. WO 00/33239, and carries out the control processillustrated in FIGS. 23A1 through 23E thereof, and bounded by the statetransition diagram of FIG. 24 shown therein. The produced output fromthis bar code symbol reading engine is an RF carrier signal modulated bya serial data packet stream in response to several events, namely: (i)generation of symbol character data strings from the automatic bar codesymbol reading engine 200; (ii) the manual actuation of the datatransmission switch mounted on the exterior of the scanner housing; and(iii) the generation of in-range indication signal A₅=1 from theBluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 embodied within thehand-supportable bar code reading device in which the engine isintegrated.

Advantageously, the use of a raster-type (2-D) laser scanning patternduring these modes of operation enable more aggressive bar code symboldetection and reading of 2D (e.g. PDF417) type bar code symbols.

Automatically-Activated Laser Scanning Engine for ProducingTwo-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Detection Field, andTwo-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Detection Field Without an ObjectDetection Field

In FIG. 7F, the sixth illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning engine hereof 230″ is shown. Innearly all but a few respects, the bar code symbol reading engine ofFIG. 7F is substantially similar to the bar code symbol reading engineof FIG. 7A, except that the engine of FIG. 7F does not produce any sortof objection detection field. Instead, the engine shown in FIG. 7Frelies on the use of automatic laser-based bar code symbol detection inwhich a visible laser beam is operated in a pulse mode of operation(e.g. housing about a 50% duty cycle). Notably, the bar code symbolreading engine of FIG. 7F embodies the system architecture shown in FIG.25 of WIPO Publication No. WO 00/33239, and carries out the controlprocess illustrated in FIGS. 27A through 27C thereof, and bounded by thestate transition diagram of FIG. 28 shown therein. The produced outputfrom this bar code symbol reading engine is an RF carrier signalmodulated by a serial data packet stream in response to several events,namely: (i) generation of symbol character data strings from theautomatic bar code symbol reading engine 200; (ii) the manual actuationof the data transmission switch mounted on the exterior of the scannerhousing; and (iii) the generation of in-range indication signal A₅=1from the Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 embodied within thehand-supportable bar code reading device in which the engine isintegrated.

Automatically-Activated Laser Scanning Engine for Producing IR-BasedObject Detection Field, Omni-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code DetectionField, and Omni-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Detection Field

In FIG. 8A, a seventh automatically-activated laser scanning enginehereof 260 is shown comprising: an ultra-compact engine housing 261having a lower housing (i.e. base) portion 261A and an upper housing(i.e. cover) portion 261B; a polygon-based laser scanning module ormechanism 262, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,091, incorporatedhere by reference, having an optical bench with optical andelectro-optical components mounted thereon, for producing and scanning alaser beam across an omnidirectional scanning field; a PC board 263 forsupporting electronic circuits used to realize the subsystems shown inFIGS. 10A1 through 10O, including an IR transmitter and receiver 264 and265 coupled to an object detection circuit realized on PC board 263, anda photodetector 266 coupled to analog and digital signal processingcircuits realized on a PC board 263, as taught in U.S. Pat. No.5,976,091; and a scanning window 267 for covering the transmissionaperture of the engine housing, and providing the optical functionstaught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,789,731 incorporated herein by reference.

Notably, the bar code symbol reading engine of FIG. 8A embodies thesystem architecture shown in FIGS. 10A through 10O, and carries out thecontrol process illustrated in FIGS. 14A1 through 14C4, and bounded bythe state transition diagram of FIG. 15. During the bar code symboldetection mode, the engine automatically generates an omni-directionallaser scanning pattern within its bar code symbol detection field 10,for collecting scan data for use in bar code symbol detection processingoperations. Also, during the bar code symbol reading mode, the engineautomatically generates an omni-directional laser scanning patternwithin its bar code symbol reading field 11, for collecting scan datafor use in bar code symbol detection processing operations. In FIGS. 9Aand 9B, cross-sectional views of the omnidirectional and laser scanningpattern projected within fields 10 and 11 are shown. Further detailsregarding the laser scanning pattern are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,796,091, incorporated herein by reference. The produced output fromthis bar code symbol reading engine is an RF carrier signal modulated bya serial data packet stream in response to several events, namely: (i)generation of symbol character data strings from the automatic bar codesymbol reading engine 200; (ii) the manual actuation of the datatransmission switch mounted on the exterior of the scanner housing; and(iii) the generation of in-range indication signal A₅=1 from theBluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 embodied within thehand-supportable bar code reading device in which the engine isintegrated.

Automatically-Activated Laser Scanning Engine for Producing Laser-BasedObject Detection Field, Omni-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code DetectionField, and Omni-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Detection Field

In FIG. 8B, the eighth illustrative embodiment of theautomatically-activated laser scanning engine hereof 260′ is showncomprising: an ultra-compact engine housing 261 having a lower housing(i.e. base) portion 261B and an upper housing (i.e. cover) portion 261A;a polygon-based laser scanning module 262 as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,796,091, incorporated here by reference, having an optical bench withoptical and electro-optical components mounted thereon, for producingand scanning a laser beam across an omnidirectional scanning field; a PCboard 263 for supporting electronic circuits used to realize thesubsystems shown in FIGS. 22A1-22C, including a photodetector 266coupled to analog and digital signal processing circuits realized on PCboard 263, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,091; and a scanning window267 for covering the transmission aperture of the engine housing, andproviding the spectral filtering functions taught in U.S. Pat. No.5,789,731, incorporated herein by reference.

Notably, the bar code symbol reading engine of FIG. 8B embodies thesystem architecture shown in FIGS. 22A1-22C of WIPO Publication No. WO00/33239, and carries out the control process illustrated in FIGS. 23A1through 23E thereof, and is generally governed by the state transitiondiagram shown in FIG. 24 shown therein. In nearly all respects, but afew, the engine of FIG. 8B is similar to the engine of FIG. 8A, exceptthat a laser-based object detection field 23 is automatically generatedfrom the engine in FIG. 8B during its object detection mode ofoperation. The same techniques described in connection with the engineof FIG. 6E can be used to generate the laser-based object detectionfield 23 produced from the laser scanning engine of FIG. 8B. Theproduced output from this bar code symbol reading engine is an RFcarrier signal modulated by a serial data packet stream in response toseveral events, namely: (i) generation of symbol character data stringsfrom the automatic bar code symbol reading engine 200; (ii) the manualactuation of the data transmission switch mounted on the exterior of thescanner housing; and (iii) the generation of in-range indication signalA₅=1 from the Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 embodied within thehand-supportable bar code reading device in which the engine isintegrated.

Automatically-Activated Laser Scanning Engine for ProducingOmni-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Detection Field andOmni-Dimensional Laser-Based Bar Code Detection Field, Without an ObjectDetection Field

In FIG. 8C, the ninth illustrative embodiment of the automaticallyactivated laser scanning engine hereof 260″ is shown comprising: anultra-compact engine housing 261 having a lower housing (i.e. base)portion 261A and an upper housing (i.e. cover) portion 261B; apolygon-based laser scanning module 262 as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,796,091, incorporated herein by reference, having an optical benchwith optical and electro-optical components mounted thereon, forproducing and scanning a laser beam across an omnidirectional scanningfield; a PC board 263 for supporting electronic circuits used to realizethe subsystems shown in FIGS. 25A-26, including a photodetector 266coupled to analog and digital signal processing circuit realized on PCboard 263, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,091; and a scanning window267 for covering the transmission aperture of the engine housing, andproviding the spectral-filtering functions taught in U.S. Pat. No.5,789,731, incorporated herein by reference.

Notably, the bar code symbol reading engine of FIG. 8C embodies thesystem architecture shown in FIGS. 25A-26 of WIPO Publication No. WO00/33239 carries out the control process illustrated in FIGS. 27Athrough 27C thereof and is generally governed by the state transitiondiagram shown in FIG. 28 shown therein. In nearly all respects, but afew, the engine of FIG. 8C is similar to the engine of FIG. 8B, exceptthat the laser scanning engine of FIG. 8C does not generate any form ofobject detection field during its system operation. The produced outputfrom this bar code symbol reading engine is an RF carrier signalmodulated by a serial data packet stream in response to several events,namely: (i) generation of symbol character data strings from theautomatic bar code symbol reading engine 200; (ii) the manual actuationof the data transmission switch mounted on the exterior of the scannerhousing; and (iii) the generation of in-range indication signal A₅=1from the Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 embodied within thehand-supportable bar code reading device in which the engine isintegrated.

Wireless Automatically-Activated Laser Scanning Bar Code Symbol SystemComprising IR-Based Object Detection Subsystem, Laser-Based Bar CodeSymbol Detection Subsystem, Laser-Based Bar Code Symbol ReadingSubsystem, and Manually-Activated Symbol Character Data TransmissionSubsystem

Referring to FIGS. 10A1 through 15, the first generalized system designwill now be described in greater detail. Notably, the structure andfunctions of the first generalized system design are provided withineach of illustrative embodiments of the present invention describedabove relating to automatically-activated bar code symbol readingsystems comprising an IR-based object detection subsystem, a laser-basedbar code presence detection subsystem, a laser-based bar code symbolreading subsystem and data transmission activation subsystem, asillustrated in FIG. 1A. Details on the second and third generalizedsystem designs can be found by reading WIPO Publication No. WO 00/33239,taking into consideration the teachings described with respect to thefirst generalized embodiment described below.

As shown in FIG. 10A 1 through 100, wireless automatically-activated barcode symbol reading system 300 comprising a number of cooperatingcomponents, namely: a system override signal detection circuit 301 fordetecting the production of a system override signal and producing inthe presence thereof control activation signal A₀=1; a primaryoscillator circuit 301A for producing a primary clock signal CLK for useby the system override signal detection circuit 301 and object detectioncircuit 307; a first RC timing network 302 for setting the oscillationfrequency of the primary oscillator circuit; means (e.g. Hall-effectsensor) 335 for producing a system override signal; amanually-activatable data transmission switch 303 for generating controlactivation signal A₄=1 in response to activation of the switch; firstcontrol means 304, realized as a first control circuit C₁, forperforming localized system control functions; a second RC timingnetwork 305 for setting a timer T₁ in control circuit C₁; means (e.g. anobject sensing circuit 306 and an object detection circuit 307) forproducing a first activation control signal A₁=1 upon the detection ofan object bearing a bar code in at least a portion of the objectdetection field 9; a laser beam scanning mechanism 308 for producing andscanning a visible laser beam across the bar code symbol on the detectedobject; photoreceiving circuit 309 for detecting laser light reflectedoff the scanned bar code symbol and producing an electrical signal D₁indicative of the detected intensity; an analog-to-digital (A/D)conversion circuit 310 for converting analog scan data signal D₁ into acorresponding digital scan data signal D₂; a bar code symbol (presence)detection circuit 311 for processing digital scan data signal D₂ inorder to automatically detect the digital data pattern of a bar codesymbol on the detected object and produce control activation signalA₂=1; a third RC timing network 312 for setting a timer TBCD in the barcode symbol detection circuit 311; second control means 313, realized asa second control circuit C₂, for performing local system controloperations in response to the detection of the bar code symbol; thirdcontrol means 314, realized as third control module C₃; timers T₂, T₃,T₄, and T₅ identified by reference numerals 315, 316, 317 and 318,respectively; a symbol decoding module 319 for processing digital scandata signal D₂ so as to determine the data represented by the detectedbar code symbol, generate symbol character data representative thereof,and produce activation control signal A₃ for use by third control moduleC₃; a data packet synthesis module 320 for synthesizing a group offormatted data packets for transmission to its mated base unit 440; adata packet transmission circuit 321 for transmitting the group of datapackets synthesized by the data packet synthesis module 319; an objectdetection state indicator (e.g. LED) 451 a bar code symbol detectionstate indicator 452 driven by enable signal E₂ and control activationsignal A₂=1, a bar code symbol reading state indicator (e.g. LED) 453driven by enable signal E₈=1; and a data transmission state indicator454 (e.g. LED) driven by signal E₉=1; Bluetooth™ RF transceiver chipsets 803 and 804 installed in both the hand-supportable device 791 andthe cradle-providing base station 792, respectively, for implementing a2-way RF data communication link therebetween; a Data Packet GroupBuffer (i.e. FIFO) 802 arranged in data communication with the DataPacket Transmission Circuit 321 under the control of C₃ Control Module314 using enable signal E₁₁; Data Packet Transmission Circuit 321controlled by C₃ Control Module 314 using enable signal E₁₀; anOut-Of-Communication Range Indicator (audible and/or visual) 805arranged under the C₃ Control Module, for generating audible and/orvisual indications to the operator when the hand-supportable bar codereader is moved outside of the communication range of the system; andadditional control system logic programmed into the system controlprocess illustrated in the flow charts of FIGS. 14A1 through 14C4, so asto enable the wireless bar code reader to (i) read a barcode while outof the communication range of its remote base station, (ii) store suchdata until communication can be reestablished between the wireless unitand the base station, and then (3) transmit the buffered and packageddata to the base station when the wireless device is once again locatedwithin the communication range of the system. Preferably, the memorystorage capacity of the Data Packet Group Buffer 802 will be sufficientto hold numerous bar code symbols read while the wireless device isoutside the communication range of its remote base station.

As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, second controlcircuit C₂ is capable of “overriding” (i.e. inhibit and/or enable) firstcontrol circuit C₁, whereas third control circuit C₃ is capable ofoverriding first and second control circuits C₁ and C₂, respectively. Asshown in FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4, such control override functions arecarried out by the generation of control override signals (i.e. C₂/C₁,C₃/C₂ and C₃/C₁) transmitted between respective control structuresduring system operation. Owing to the unique architecture of the controlsubsystem hereof, the automatically activated bar code symbol readingdevice hereof is capable of versatile performance and ultra-low poweroperation. The structure, function and advantages of this controlsubsystem architecture will become apparent hereinafter.

As shown in FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4, electrical power is provided to thecomponents of the bar code reading device by battery power supply unit320 contained within the housing of the device. As shown in theschematic diagram of FIG. 10B 1, battery power supply unit 320 containedwithin the housing of the code symbol reading device provides electricalpower to the components therewithin in accordance with a programmed modeof intelligent operation. In the illustrative embodiment, battery powersupply unit 320 comprises a power supply distribution circuit 325,replaceable or rechargeable batteries 326, and an automatic powercontrol circuit 330. In the illustrative embodiment, where rechargeablebatteries are employed, the power supply circuit 320 further includes asecondary inductive coil 327B, bridge rectifier 328 and voltageregulation circuit 329. Preferably, all of these subcomponents arecontained within the hand-supportable housing of the device, andconfigured together as shown in FIG. 10B 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 10B 1, the function of secondary inductive coil327 is to establish an electromagnetic coupling with the primaryinductive coil contained, for example, in the base unit 440 associatedwith the bar code reading device. In those embodiments of the bar codesymbol reading system having a base unit 440 with an integratedrecharging unit, the rechargeable batteries 326 therein areautomatically recharged whenever the bar code symbol reading device issupported in the recharging portion of the base unit. More specifically,when arranged in this configuration, electrical power is inductivelytransferred from the primary inductive coil 327A in the base unit 440 tosecondary inductive coil 327B in the bar code symbol reading device, asshown in FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4. The inductively coupled AC powersignal is then rectified by bridge rectifier 320, and ultimatelyfiltered by voltage regulation circuit 329 to provide a regulated DCpower supply signal for recharging rechargeable batteries 326.

As shown in FIG. 10B 1, automatic power control circuit 330 is connectedin series between rechargeable battery 326 and power distributioncircuit 325. The function of automatic power control circuit 330 is toautomatically control (i.e. manage) the availability of battery power toelectrically-active components within the bar code symbol reading devicewhen the device is operated in its hands-on mode of operation (i.e.removed from the cradle portion of the base station) under a predefinedset of operating conditions. Notably, while power distribution circuit325 distributes electrical power throughout the bar code symbol readingdevice by way of a power distribution bus, automatic power controlcircuit 330 globally enables consumption of electrical power (i.e. theproduct of voltage and direct current) by the system components onlywhen the power control circuit 330 is activated.

As shown in FIG. 10B 1, the automatic power control circuit 330comprises a number of subcomponents, namely: a DC-to-DC voltageconverter 330A; a power commutation switch 330B; and a resettable timercircuit 330C. The function of the DC-to-DC voltage converter 330A is toconvert the voltage from battery power source 326 to +5 Volts, whereasthe function of the power commutation switch 330B is to selectivelycommute electrical power from the DC-to-DC converter 330A to the inputport of the power distribution circuit 325. The function of theresettable timer circuit 330C is to control the power commutationcircuit so that battery power is provided to the power distributioncircuit 325 in a power conserving manner without compromising theperformance of the bar code symbol reading system in its various modesof operation.

In general, there are numerous ways in which to realize the power resetswitch 330D employed in the power supply unit 320 shown in FIGS. 10A1through 10B1. In practice, however, the particular manner in which thissubcomponent is realized will depend on the particular embodiment of thebar code symbol reading system, as well as its particular application.For example, consider the bar code symbol reading system illustrated inFIG. 2A. In this particular embodiment of the present invention, itwould advantageous to realize the power reset switch 330D as aspring-biased switch provided on one of the support surfaces of thehand-supportable housing thereof. In this arrangement, the power resetswitch 330D would generate a power reset signal when thehand-supportable housing is picked-up out of its stand, or off acountertop surface, upon which it was supported while in itspower-off/saving mode of operation.

As shown in FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4, battery supply 326 aboard each barcode symbol reading device is automatically charged to its normal outputvoltage (i.e. V_(BATTERY)) by way of battery recharging apparatus327A/327B, 328 and 329. A predetermined time duration ΔT (e.g. greaterthan 1 minute, preferably 5 minutes) after the occurrence of a powerswitching event, power supply unit 320 attains its steady-statecondition. At this state, capacitor C₁ charges through resistor R₁, to avoltage above Vref. This causes the output voltage of the capacitor C1to drop to a level which disables FET 330B, thereby disabling the supplyof battery power to power distribution circuit 325, and ultimatelydisabling the bar code symbol reading device. Upon the occurrence of anyof the above three “power switching” events described above, capacitorC₁ quickly discharges through resistor R₂ (i.e. R₁>>R₁), causing theoutput voltage of capacitor C1 to go to a level which enables FET 330Bto supply battery power to the power distribution circuitry 325, andthereby enabling the bar code reading device for the predetermined timeperiod (e.g. ΔT greater than 1 minute, preferably 5 minutes). Thisprogrammed duration of power supply provides a time window ΔT, withinwhich the object detection circuit of the system can automaticallydetect an object within its object detection field 9. This powerresetting operation does not, however, initiate or otherwise cause laserscanning or bar code symbol reading operations to commence or cease.Only the introduction of an object into the object detection field 9(i.e. when the resettable timer circuit 330C has been reset) caninitiate or otherwise cause laser scanning or bar code symbol readingoperations to commence.

A principal advantage of the power control scheme of the presentinvention is that it provides automatic power conservation in automaticcode symbol reading applications employing IR-based object detection asshown in FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4, or laser-based object detection asshown in FIGS. 22A1 through 22A4 of WIPO Publication No. WO 00/33239while minimally impacting upon the diverse modes of automatic operationprovided by the system hereof. In particular, provided that the userreads at least one bar code symbol within the predetermined timeduration ΔT programmed into the bar code symbol reading device, there isno need to reset the power control circuit hereof. Also, when thehand-supportable housing of the bar code reading device is placed (i.e.supported) within the support recess of scanner support portion of itsbase unit, mode-select sensor (e.g. Hall-effect sensor) 650, sensingmagnetic flux generated by permanent magnet 551B, produces a signal(e.g. A₄=1) which continuously activates power control circuit 330,causing battery power to be supplied from recharging battery 326 to thepower distribution circuit 325, and thereby enabling continuous scanneroperation in the hands-free mode of operation. Simultaneously,mode-select sensor 650 also causes data transmission control activationsignal A₄=1 to be generated when the hand-supportable bar code readingdevice is placed within the scanner support portion of the base unit440.

In addition, a low battery protection circuit 3000 is provided withinthe wireless bar code reader for (i) automatically monitoring thevoltage of the battery source 326; (ii) razzing/vibrating the wirelessbar code reader if the battery voltage is detected as being below apredetermined voltage threshold, and then turning off the laser diodewithin the wireless device, and causing the system to enter its sleepmode. This low battery protection circuit 3000 can protect the batteryfrom over-discharge and data errors, because the current drawn from thebattery will be much higher when its voltage is too low.

In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, system overridesignal detection circuit 301, primary oscillator circuit 301A, objectdetection circuit 307, first control circuit C₁, analog-to-digitalconversion circuit 310, bar code symbol detection circuit 311, andsecond control circuit C₂ are all realized on a single ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chip 333 using microelectroniccircuit fabrication techniques known in the art. In the illustrativeembodiment, the ASIC chip and associated circuits for laser scanning andlight detection and processing functions, are mounted on a PC board withthe housing of the bar code symbol reading device. Symbol decodingmodule 319, data packet synthesis module 320, timers T₂, T₃, T₄, and T₅and third control module C₃ are realized using a single programmabledevice, such as a microprocessor having accessible program and buffermemory, and external timing circuitry, collectively depicted byreference numeral 334 in FIG. 10A 2. In the illustrative embodiment,these components and devices are mounted on the PC board with the barcode symbol reading device.

In the illustrative embodiment, when automatic power control circuit 330is activated (i.e. upon the occurrence of a particular switchingcondition), electrical power from battery power unit 326 isautomatically provided to first control circuit C₁, system overridedetection circuit 301, primary oscillator circuit 301A, IR objectsensing circuit 306 and object detection circuit 307. This enables theoperation of these components, while providing only biasing voltages toall other system components so that they are each initially disabledfrom operation. In accordance with the principles of the presentinvention, the distribution of electrical power to all other systemcomponents occurs under the management of the control architectureformed by the interaction of distributed control centers C₁, C₂ and C₃.

As shown in FIG. 10C, primary clock oscillator circuit 301A supplies aperiodic pulsed signal CLK1 to the system override signal detectioncircuit 301 and the object detection circuit 307. In the illustrativeembodiment, the primary oscillation circuit 301A is designed to operateat a low frequency (e.g. about 1.0 Khz) and a very low duty cycle (e.g.,about 1.0%). The “ON” time for the system override signal producingdevice 335 and the IR object sensing circuit 306 is proportional to theduty cycle of the primary oscillation circuit 301A. This feature allowsfor minimal operating current when the bar code symbol reading engine isin its object detection mode and also when the system override signalproducing device 335 is activated (i.e. produces a system overridesignal D₀=1).

In accordance with the present invention, the purpose of objectdetection circuit 307 is to produce a first control activation signalA₁=1 upon determining that an object (e.g. product, document, etc.) ispresent within the object detection field 9 of the bar code symbolreading device, and thus at least a portion of the bar code detectionfield 10. In the illustrative embodiment automatic object detection isemployed. It is understood, however, that “passive” techniques may beused with acceptable results. As shown in FIG. 10E, the object detectioncircuit 307 comprises two major subcomponents, namely object sensingcircuit 306 and object detection circuit 307, both of which are locallycontrolled by control circuit C₁. In the illustrative embodiment, objectsensing circuit 306 comprises an IR LED 206A driven by an IR transmitterdrive circuit 349, and an IR phototransistor (or photodiode) 206Bactivated by an IR receive biasing circuit 358. These components arearranged and mounted on the PC board so as to provide an objectdetection field 9 that spatially encompasses the laser scanning plane,as described above. As shown in FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4, the objectdetection circuit 307 produces an enable signal IR DR which is providedto the IR transmitter drive circuit 349. The signal produced from IRphototransistor 206B, identified as IR REC, is provided as input signalto the object detection circuit 307 for signal processing in a mannerwhich will be described in detail below. In the illustrative embodiment,IR LED 206A generates a 900 nanometer signal that is pulsed at the rateof the primary oscillation circuit 301A (e.g. 1.0 KHZ) when the objectdetection circuit 307 is enabled by enable signal E₀ produced from thefirst control circuit C₁. Preferably, the duty cycle of the primaryoscillation circuit 301A is less than 1.0% in order to keep the averagecurrent consumption very low.

Alternatively, the automatic bar code reading device of the presentinvention can be readily adapted to sense ultrasonic energy reflectedoff an object present within the object detection field 9. In such analternative embodiment, object sensing circuit 306 is realized as anultrasonic energy transmitting/receiving mechanism. In the housing ofthe bar code reading engine, an ultrasonic energy signal is generatedand transmitted forwardly into the object detection field 9. Then,ultrasonic energy reflected off an object within the object detectionfield 9 is detected adjacent to the transmission window using anultrasonic energy detector (integrated with the housing) producing ananalog electrical signal (i.e. UE REC) indicative of the detectedintensity of received ultrasonic energy. Preferably, a focusing elementis disposed in front of the energy detector in order to effectivelymaximize the collection of ultrasonic energy reflected off objects inthe object detection field. In such instances, the focusing elementessentially determines the geometrical characteristics of the objectdetection field of the device. Consequently, the energy focusing (i.e.collecting) characteristics of the focusing element will be selected toprovide an object detection field which spatially encompasses at least aportion of the laser-based bar code symbol detecting and readingsfields. The electrical signal produced from the ultrasonic-energy basedobject sensing circuit is provided to the object detection circuit 307for processing in the manner described above.

Referring to FIG. 10F, the first control logic block C₁ will bedescribed in greater detail. In general, the function of the firstcontrol logic block C₁ is to provide the first level of system control.This control circuit activates the object detection circuit 307 bygenerating enable signal E₀=1, it activates laser beam scanning circuit308, photoreceiving circuit 309 and A/D conversion circuit 310 bygenerating enable signal E₁=1; it also activates bar code symboldetection circuit 311 by generating enable signal E₂=1. In addition, thefirst control circuit C₁ provides control lines and signals in order tocontrol these functions, and provides a system override function for thelow power standby mode in the bar code symbol reading engine. In theillustrative embodiment, the specific operation of first control circuitC₁ is dependent on the state of several sets of input signals (i.e.activation control signal A₀ and A₁, and override signals C₂/C₁, C₃/C₁₋₁and C₃/C₁₋₂) and an internally generated digital timer signal B1. Apreferred logic implementation of the first control circuit C₁ is setforth in FIGS. 10F and 10G. The functional dependencies among thedigital signals in this circuit are represented by the Boolean logicexpressions set forth in the Table of FIG. 10H, and therefore aresufficient to uniquely characterize the operation of first controlcircuit C₁.

As illustrated in FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4, laser scanning circuit 308comprises a light source 377 which, in general, may be any source ofintense light suitably selected for maximizing the reflectivity from theobject bearing a bar code symbol. In the preferred embodiment, lightsource 377 comprises a solid-state visible laser diode (VLD) which isdriven by a conventional driver circuit 378. In the illustrativeembodiment, the wavelength of visible laser light produced from thelaser diode is preferably about 670 nanometers. In order to repeatedlyscan the produced laser beam over the scanning field (having apredetermined spatial extent in front the light transmission window),any number of laser beam scanning mechanisms described herein can beused. In FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4, the scanner driver air unit isschematically depicted by reference numeral 381. As the scanningmechanism can be realized in a variety of different ways, as illustratedherein above, a scanner motor 380 is used to represent this structure inthe system. Notably, this scanning motor 380 need not beelectro-mechanical in nature, but may be based on electro-optical beamscanning/steering principles employing, for example, cholesteric liquidcrystal (CLC) laser beam steering technology known in the art. Thus, theterm “scanning motor” as used herein is understood as any means formoving, steering, swinging or directing the path of a light beam throughspace during system operation for the purpose of obtaining informationrelating to an object and/or a bar code symbol.

As shown in the generalized system diagram of FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4,laser diode 377 and scanning motor 380 are enabled by enable signal E₁provided as input to driver circuits 378 and 381. When enable signal E₁is a logical “high” level (i.e. E₁=1), a laser beam is generated andprojected through the light transmissive window, and repeatedly scannedacross the bar code symbol detection field, and an optical scan datasignal is thereby produced off the object (and bar code) residing withinthe bar code symbol detection field 10. When laser diode and scanningmotor enable signal E₁ is a logical “low” (i.e. E₁=0), there is no laserbeam produced, projected, or scanned across the bar code symboldetection field 10.

When a bar code symbol is present on the detected object at the time ofscanning, the user visually aligns the visible laser beam across the barcode symbol, and incident laser light on the bar code will bescattered/reflected (typically according to Lambert's Law). Thisscattering/reflection process produces a laser light return signal ofvariable intensity which represents a spatial variation of lightreflectivity characteristics of the pattern of bars and spacescomprising the scanned bar code symbol. Photoreceiving circuit 309detects at least a portion of the reflected laser light of variableintensity and produces an analog scan data signal D₁ indicative of thedetected light intensity.

In response to reflected laser light focused onto photoreceiver 385, thephotoreceiver produces an analog electrical signal which is proportionalto the intensity of the detected laser light. This analog signal issubsequently amplified by preamplifier 387 to produce analog scan datasignal D₁. In short, laser scanning circuit 308 and photoreceivingcircuit 309 cooperate to generate analog scan data signals D₁ from thescanning field (i.e. bar code detection and reading fields), over timeintervals specified by first and second control circuits C, and C₂during normal modes of operation, and by third control module C₃ during“control override” modes of operation.

As illustrated in FIG. 10I, analog scan data signal D₁ is provided asinput to A/D conversion circuit 310. In a manner well known in the art,A/D conversion circuit 310 processes analog scan data signal D₁ toprovide a digital scan data signal D₂ which has a waveform thatresembles a pulse width modulated signal, where the logical “1” signallevels represent spaces of the scanned bar code symbol and the logical“0” signal levels represent bars of the scanned bar code symbol. The A/Dconversion circuit 310 can be realized using any conventional A/Dconversion technique well known in the art. Digitized scan data signalD₂ is then provided as input to bar code symbol detection circuit 311and symbol decoding module 319 for use in performing particularfunctions required during the bar code symbol reading process of thepresent invention.

In FIG. 10J, the bar code symbol detection circuit 311 of theillustrative embodiment is shown in greater detail. The primary purposeof bar code symbol detection circuit 311 is to determine whether a barcode is present in or absent from the bar code symbol detection field10, over time intervals specified by first control circuit C₁ duringnormal modes of operation, and by third control module C₃ during controloverride modes of operation. In the illustrative embodiment, bar codesymbol detection circuit 311 indirectly detects the presence of a barcode in the bar code symbol detection field 10 by detecting its bar codesymbol “envelope”. In the illustrative embodiment, a bar code symbolenvelope is deemed present in the bar code symbol detection field 10upon detecting a corresponding digital pulse sequence in digital signalD₂ which A/D conversion circuit 310 produces when photoreceiving circuit309 detects laser light reflected off a bar code symbol in the bar codesymbol detection field 10. This digital pulse sequence detection processis achieved by counting the number of digital pulse transitions (i.e.falling pulse edges) that occur in digital scan data signal D₂ within apredetermined time period T₁ clocked by the bar code symbol detectioncircuit. According to the laws of physics governing the laser scanningmechanism employed within the implementation of the system, the numberof digital (pulse-width modulated) pulses detectable at photoreceiver385 during time period T₁ is a function of the distance of the bar codefrom the light transmission window 311 at the time of scanning. Thus, abar code symbol scanned at 6″ from the light transmission window willproduce a larger number of digital pulses (i.e. digital count) atphotoreceiver 385 during time period T₁ than will the same bar codesymbol scanned at 3″ from the light transmission window.

When an object is detected in the object detection field 9, firstcontrol circuit C₁ produces enable signal E₂=1 so as to enable digitalpulse transition counter 390 for a time duration of T₁. As shown, thedigital scan data signal D₂ (representing the bars and spaces of thescanned bar code) drives the clock line of first flip flop 392, as wellas the CLK line of flip flop circuit 398 in the TBCD digital timercircuit 391. The first pulse transition in digital scan data signal D₂starts digital timer circuit 391. The production of each count resetpulse CNT RESET from digital timer circuit 391 automatically clears thedigital pulse transition counter circuit 390, resetting it once again tocount the number of pulse transitions present in the incoming digitalscan data signal D₂ over a new time subinterval TBCD. The Q outputcorresponding to eight pulse transitions counted during time periodTBCD, provides control activation signal A₂. When the presence of a barcode in the bar code symbol detection field 10 is detected, the secondactivation control signal A₂ is generated, the third control circuit C₃is activated and second control circuit C₂ is overridden by the thirdcontrol circuit C₃ through the transmission of control override signals(i.e. C₃/C₂ inhibit and C₃/C₁ enable signals) from the third controlcircuit C₃.

Upon entering the bar code symbol reading state, the third controlmodule C₃ provides override control signal C₃/C₁₋₂ to the first controlcircuit C₁. In response to control signal C₃/C₁₋₂, the first controlcircuit C₁ produces enable signal E₁=1 which enables the laser scanningcircuit 308, photo-receiving circuit 309 and A/D conversion circuit 310.In response to control signal C₃/C₂, the first control circuit C₁produces enable signal E₂=0, which disables bar code symbol detectorcircuit 311. Thereafter, the third control module C₃ produces enablesignal E₄=1 to enable symbol decoding module 319. In response to theproduction of such signals, the symbol decoding module 319 decodeprocesses, scan line by scan line, the stream of digitized scan datacontained in signal D₂ in an attempt to decode the detected bar codesymbol within the second predetermined time period T₂ established andmonitored by the third control module C₃. If the symbol decoding module319 successfully decodes the detected bar code symbol within time periodT₂, then symbol character data D₃ (representative of the decoded barcode symbol and typically in ASCII code format) is produced. Thereuponsymbol decoding module 319 produces and provides the third controlactivation signal A₃ to the third control module C₃.

If the data transmission control activation signal A₄=1 has beenproduced by manually-activatable switch 303 within a predetermined timeduration (i.e. time frame) set by a timer within the third controlmodule C₃, then the third control module C₃ automatically induces astate transition from the bar code symbol reading state to the data(packet) transmission state. In response thereto, three distinct eventsare programmed to occur. Firstly, the third control module C₃automatically produces and provides enable signal E₅ to data packetsynthesis module 320. Secondly, symbol decoding module 319 stores symbolcharacter data D₃ in a memory buffer associated with data packetsynthesis module 320. Thirdly, the third control module C₃ produces andprovides enable signal E₇ to the data packet transmission circuit 321.These enabling events activate the data (packet) transmission subsystemshown in FIGS. 10A1 through 10A4. Upon activation of the data packettransmission subsystem, the subsequently produced symbol character datastring is transmitted to the base unit 440 and therefrom to the hostcomputer 441.

Alternatively, upon generation of control activation signals A₃=1 andA₄=1 within the time period established by the third system controlmodule C₃, a different set of events can be programmed to occur. Forexample, the third control module C₃ can produce and provide enablesignal E₆ to the data storage module, and thereafter produce and provideenable signal E₇ to the data transmission circuit 321. These enablingevents activate the data (packet) transmission subsystem of the systemto operate in different ways depending on whether the in-range orout-of-range indication control signal A₅ is generated by theBluetooth®RF transceiver chipset 803 aboard the bar code symbol readingdevice. If the value of the activation control signal is A₅=1, then thedata packet transmission subsystem automatically transmits the selectedsymbol character data string to the base unit 440, and therefrom to thehost computer 441. If the value of the activation control signal isA₅=0, then the data packet transmission subsystem automaticallytransmits the selected/packaged symbol character data string to theon-board Data Packet Group Buffer 802, for storage until the bar codesymbol reading device is moved back within the predetermined RF-baseddata communication range of the system.

In the illustrated embodiment, symbol decoding module 319, data packetsynthesis module 320, and timers T₂, T₃, T₄ and T₅ are each realizedusing programmed microprocessor and accessible memory 334. Similarly,the third control module C₃ and the control functions which it performsat Blocks I to GG in FIGS. 14A1 through 14C4, for example, are realizedas a programming implementation using techniques well known in the art.

The function of data packet synthesis module 320 is to use the producedsymbol character data to synthesize a group of data packets forsubsequent transmission to its mated base unit 440 by way of data packettransmission circuit 321. The function of the data storage module 322 isto buffer packaged symbol character data strings until ready to beeither transmitted to the base station 440′ by way of the data packettransmission circuit 321 via wireless electromagnetic datatransmission/reception, or temporary storage within the data packetgroup buffer 802.

As shown in FIG. 100, the data packet transmission circuit 321 of theillustrative embodiment comprises several modules, namely: a Bluetooth®RF tranceiver module 400 (i.e. BG100 TrueBlue Bluetooth radio module byPhillips Electronics); and a Bluetooth® baseband controller module 4002(i.e. PCF87750 Bluetooth Baseband Controller by Phillips Electronics)arranged with the RF transceiver module 4001. Currently, Bluetooth™2-way RF data communication link technology currently has a radio rangeof approximately 10 m (30 ft), or 100 m optionally, with greater rangesunder development. The Bluetooth™ communication protocol employed in thewireless system of this illustrative embodiment enables the reader tooperate within a 10 m range, but this range can vary from embodiment toembodiment, as advances in the Bluetooth® RF Communication Specificationoccur.

As described in Phillips Electronics brochures, the BGB100 TrueBlueBluetooth radio module 4001 is a short-range radio transceiver forwireless links operating in the globally available ISM band, between2402 and 2480 MHz. It is composed of a fully integrated,state-of-the-art near-zero-IF transceiver chip, an antenna filter forout-of-band blocking performance, a TX/RX switch, TX and RX baluns, theVCO resonator and a basic amount of supply decoupling. The device is a“Plug-and-Play” module that needs no external components for properoperation. Robust design allows for untrimmed components, giving acost-optimized solution. Demodulation is done in open-loop mode toreduce the effects of reference frequency breakthrough on receptionquality. An advanced offset compensation circuit compensates for VCOdrift and RF frequency errors during open-loop demodulation, undercontrol by the baseband processor. The circuit is integrated on aceramic substrate. It is connected to the main PCB through a LGA (LandGrid Array). A metal cap suppresses the effect of EMI (Electro MagneticInterference). The RF port has a normalized 50 Ω transmission line. Theinterfacing to the baseband processor is very simple, which leads to alow-power solution. Control of the module operating mode is done througha 3-wire serial bus and two timing signals. TX and RX data I/O lines areanalogue-mode interfaces. A high-dynamic range RSSI output allowsnear-instantaneous assessment of radio link quality. Frequency selectionis done internally by a conventional synthesizer. It is controlled b ythe same serial 3-wire bus. The synthesizer accepts referencefrequencies of 12, 13, 16 and 26 MHz. This reference frequency should besupplied by an external source. This can be a dedicated (temperaturecompensated) crystal oscillator or be part of the baseband controller.The circuit is designed to operate from 3.0 V nominal supplies. Separateground connections are provided for reduced parasitic coupling betweendifferent stages of the circuit. There is a basic amount of RF supplydecoupling incorporated into the circuit. The envelope is a leadlessSOT649A package with a metal cap.

As described in Phillips Electronics brochures, the PCF87750 BluetoothBaseband Controller 4002 is a flexible baseband controller for use withthe Bluetooth® BGB100 TrueBlue Bluetooth radio module 4001. The PCF87750Baseband Controller comprises an ARM7TDMI microcontroller, SRAM (staticRAM), firmware memory, Bluetooth core, interface circuits, a CVSD codec,voice path A/D and D/A conversion and power management. This results ina one-chip implementation of the complete baseband for Bluetooth. Thisdevice offers power management to reduce the power of those blocks whichare not actively processing. There are 2 device pinouts available fromthe PCF87750: Fully integrated device with on-chip memory; and Emulationdevice (for development and emulation only). The PCF87750 incorporatesthe Phillips Semiconductors UAA3558/3559 interface, as well as theEricsson Siri radio interface.

The details on how to integrate (i.e. embed) Bluetooth™ RF-based 2-waydata communication chip set module technology into wireless applicationsis generally well known in the RF art, and reference can be made tosupporting documentation located at the official Bluetooth™ Websitehttp://www.bluetooth.com, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety as if set forth fully herein. Duringimplementation of the present invention, the Bluetooth™ RF module 4001associated with the Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset 803 is directlyconnected to the CPU (i.e. microcontroller) of the wireless bar codereader and it notifies the CPU in the wireless bar code reader when thewireless RF communication link has been established between the wirelessbar code reader and the base station, as well as when the communicationlink has been severed or disrupted.

In the preferred embodiment, the wireless data communication method ofthe present invention described hereinabove is implemented byprogramming the system control software in the bar code symbol reader toalways store, in its memory, its current “link status” with the basestation which is indicated by A₅=1 when the link status is GOOD, andA₅=0 when the link status is NO GOOD. This link status information ismaintained by monitoring the strength of RF-based “heartbeat signals”(i.e. reference signals) periodically transmitted from the base stationto the wireless bar code symbol reader during all modes of systemoperation. When the data transmission activation button 330 is pressedduring or immediately after a valid read of a bar code symbol, thesystem control software in the wireless bar code reader first checks thestatus of its wireless link with the base station. If the RF link hasbeen established, which means that the base station (i.e. its Bluetooth®RF transceiver chipset) is in range of the wireless bar code reader(i.e. its Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset), then the wireless bar codereader transmits the stored and packaged symbol character dataimmediately to the base station. If the RF communication link has notbeen established, which means that the base station (i.e. Bluetooth®RFtransceiver chipset) is out of range of the bar code symbol reader (i.e.Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset), then the wireless reader does notattempt to transmit the packaged symbol character data to the basestation. Instead, the Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset in the wirelessbar code reader periodically monitors the link status of the system(i.e. between the bar code reader and the base station) until a suitableRF link is reestablished therebetween. If so, then the wireless bar codesymbol reader either (i) transmits the stored packaged symbol characterdata to the base station over the re-established RF communication link,or alternatively, (ii) waits until a new bar code symbol has been read,and when this event occurs, then old packaged symbol character datastring discarded and then the current packaged symbol data string istransmitted to the base station over the RF communication link. Thesystem controller within the wireless bar code symbol reader, andcorrespondingly the base station controller in the base station, can beprogrammed in a straightforward manner to determine if either modes (i)or (ii) shall occur during system operation.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the controlprocess within the wireless bar code symbol reading system describedherein can also be programmed in various ways to carry out additionalfunctionalities which create value for the user of the system.

For example, the control process within the wireless system of thepresent invention can be programmed so that after the first time thewireless bar code symbol reader reads a bar code symbol while the datatransmission switch is actuated, the produced symbol character data isautomatically transmitted to the base unit, and thereafter, the laserlight source within the wireless bar code symbol reader is deactivatedand locked. Then, after the base unit receives the correct symbolcharacter data, it will automatically send an ACK command back to thewireless bar code symbol reader, and then the laser light source thereincan be unlocked and re-enabled. Then the second read can be processed.Notably, this system control process, between both the wireless bar codesymbol reader and its base station, provides a strict method ofconserving electrical battery power aboard the wireless bar code symbolreader which is significant in wireless portable bar code symbol readingand data collection operations.

The control process within the wireless system of the present inventionmay also be programmed to require the user to press the datatransmission activation button (i.e. switch) on the wireless bar codesymbol reader an additional time so as to enable the transmission of thepackaged symbol character data string to the base station, i.e. afterthe wireless bar code symbol reader has just established a newcommunication link with its base station. This feature would allow theuser to rescan a different bar code symbol so as to overwrite symbolcharacter data within buffer memory before the data is transmitted tothe base station, and ultimately the host system.

The control process within the wireless system of the present inventioncan be programmed to (i) enable multiple reads (i.e. selected symbolcharacter strings) to be stored in buffer memory aboard the wireless barcode symbol reader, and (ii) require that the data transmissionactivation switch 330 be depressed (i.e. actuated) to enable thetransmission of such symbol character data to the base station via thewireless RF-based data communication link.

The control process within the wireless system of the present inventioncan be programmed so that (i) all three LEDs on the wireless bar codesymbol reader illuminate to indicate that wireless reader is out of itspredetermined data communication range, as well as (ii) all three LEDsilluminate to indicate that there is stored data in the Data PacketGroup Buffer 802 waiting to be transmitted to the base station upon there-establishment of the wireless RF communication link between thewireless bar code symbol reader and its base station.

The control process within the wireless system of the present inventioncan be programmed so that collected and buffered packaged symbolcharacter data can be cleared from memory (aboard the wireless bar codesymbol reader) by holding down the data transmission activation switch330 for programmed duration (e.g. 3 seconds).

The control process within the wireless system of the present inventioncan be programmed so that it tests its data communication link beforetransmission of data packets buffered in memory. With this feature, thesystem can avoid losing packaged symbol character data caused by thedisconnection of the RF communication link between the wireless bar codesymbol reader and its base station. Before the wireless bar code symbolreader transmits symbol character data to its base station, it will testthe connection first; and if the connection is broken, then the wirelessreader will hold the barcode data and try to establish the connection.When the connection is established again, then the wireless reader willsend the stored barcode to its base station.

FIGS. 46A1 through 46C4 illustrates the steps involved in the controlprocess carried out by the control subsystem of the bar code symbolreading system of FIGS. 45A1 through 45A4. This process is similar tothe process shown in FIGS. 20A1 through 20E, except for at Blocks Ythrough FF shown in FIGS. 46C2 and 46C3 which relate to therange-dependent data packet transmission control feature of the presentinvention.

The system shown in FIGS. 43A through 46C8 also embodied a number ofother technical features which shall now be specified below.

For example, a mechanical vibrator can be included within thehand-supportable housing of the wireless device so that when scan datatransmission from the reader to the base station is successful, then thereader automatically vibrates. The mechanical vibrator would be arrangedunder the control of C₃ Control Module. In a noisy environment, thisfeature should provide a clear signal to the operator that thetransmission status has been successful.

When wireless reader of the present invention switches into its sleepmode (however it was caused to enter this date), the baseband (micro)controller 4002 used within each Bluetooth™ RF transceiver chipset(aboard the wireless reader and base station alike) will issue thedisconnect commands, causing the RF data communication link between thewireless bar code reader (i.e. or data terminal) and its base station tobe terminated. Thereafter, these baseband microcontrollers 4002 enter anidle mode and the associated Bluetooth™ RF transceiver chipsets areautomatically driven into a low power mode of operation. When thewireless reader is woken up from its sleep mode, these basebandmicrocontrollers are also woken up at the same time, and the Bluetooth®radio transceiver modules are activated and the RF communication link isreestablished. All of these actions are automatically carried out withinthe wireless communication system of the present invention. All that theoperator is required to do during such periods of non-operation is topush the data transmission activation switch 330 in order to wake up thesystem.

Another object of the present invention is to enable wireless update thefirmware within the wireless bar code reader using the Internet. Withthis feature, the reader's firmware can be updated by a host computer.To achieve this, the host computer sends a command to base station thenthe base station will send the command to the wireless reader.Thereafter, the base station transmits firmware code (e.g. associatedwith the Bluetooth™ wireless data communications interface) from thehost computer to the wireless bar code reader. Then using the updatedcode received by the wireless bar code reader, the reader can update itsfirmware according to these codes upon entering a firmware update modeof operation.

The detailed structure and internal functions of the wireless bar codesymbol reading system of the first generalized system design have beendescribed in detail above. The operation of the control system thereofis described in the system block diagram shown in FIGS. 15A1-15A4 andcontrol Blocks A to GG shown in FIGS. 20A1 to 20E. As illustrated inFIG. 15, the wireless automatic hand-supportable bar code reading systemhas four basic states of operation, namely: object detection, bar codesymbol presence detection, bar code symbol reading, and symbol characterdata transmission/storage. The nature of each of these states has beendescribed above in great detail. Transitions between the various statesare indicated by directional arrows. Besides each set of directionalarrows are transition conditions expressed in terms of controlactivation signals (e.g. A₁, A₂, A₃ and A₄) and where appropriate, statetime intervals (e.g. T₁, T₂, T₃, T₄, and T₅). Conveniently, the statediagram of FIG. 21 expresses most simply the four basic operationsoccurring during the control flow within the system control program ofFIGS. 20A1 to 20E. Significantly, the control activation signals A₁, A₂,A₃ and A₄ shown in FIG. 21 indicate which events within the objectdetection field 9, the bar code detection field 10 and/or the bar codereading fields 11 can operate to affect a state transition within theallotted time frame(s), where prescribed.

By virtue of this embodiment of the present invention, there is nowprovided an automatically-activated wireless laser scanning bar codesymbol reading system for use in a work environment.

RF-Based Transceiving Base Station for Use With Automatically-ActivatedBar Code Symbol Reading Device of The Present Invention

In general, the base station in the wireless bar code reading system ofthe present invention performs two basic functions: (1) provide a 2-wayRF packet communication interface with the wireless bar code symbolreader 41(791) using the Bluetooth® Wireless Communication Specificationon the base station side of the wireless communication system; and (2)provide a data communication interface with the host system to which thebase station 42(792) is connected.

As shown in FIG. 11A, the base station 42 comprises a number components,namely: a power supply circuit 560; a receiving antenna element 561; aBluetooth® RF tranceiver module 4001 (i.e. BG100 TrueBlue Bluetoothradio module by Phillips Electronics) connected to the antenna element;and a Bluetooth® baseband controller module (i.e. PCF87750 BluetoothBaseband Controller by Phillips Electronics) arranged with the RFtransceiver module 4001, as shown in FIG. 11B; a data packet storagebuffer 564; a base unit system controller 565; a symbol character dataextraction module 569; a data format conversion module 570; and a serialdata transmission circuit 571. In the illustrative embodiment, aprogrammed microprocessor and associated memory (i.e. ROM and RAM),indicated by reference numeral 573, are used to realize the base unitsystem controller 565 and each of the above-described data processingmodules.

During implementation of the present invention, the Bluetooth™ RF module4001 associated with the Bluetooth® RF transceiver chipset is directlyconnected to the CPU (i.e. microcontroller) of the base station and itnotifies the CPU in the base station when the wireless RF communicationlink has been established between the wireless bar code reader and thebase station, as well as when the communication link that been severedor disrupted.

In the preferred embodiment, the wireless data communication method ofthe present invention described hereinabove is implemented byprogramming the system control software in the base station 42 totransmit and receive RF-based “heart beat” signals to monitor the statusof the RF communication link, and to logically reciprocate communicationrequests made by the wireless bar code symbol reader which serves as thesource of information to be communicated across the RF communicationlink of the wireless bar code symbol reading system.

In the illustrative embodiment, it is also necessary to provide a meanswithin the base station housing to recharge the batteries containedwithin the hand-supportable housing of the wireless bar code symbolreading device. Typically, DC electrical power will be available fromthe host computer system 45, to which the base station is operablyconnected by way of a flexible cable. An electrical arrangement forachieving this function is set forth in FIG. 37. As shown, power supplycircuit 560 aboard the base unit of the present invention comprises aconventional current chopper circuit 571, a high-pass electrical filter572 in parallel therewith, and a primary inductive coil 573 in parallelwith the high-pass electrical filter. Low voltage DC electrical powerprovided from the host computer system by way of power cable 574 isprovided to direct current (DC) chopper circuit 571, which is realizedon PC board 558 using high-speed current switching circuits. Thefunction of current chopper circuit 571 is to convert the input DCvoltage to the circuit into a high-frequency triangular-type(time-varying) waveform, consisting of various harmonic signalcomponents. The function of the high-pass electrical filter is to filterout the lower frequency signal components and only pass the higherfrequency signal components to the inductive coil 573. As such, the highfrequency electrical currents permitted to flow through inductive coil573 induce a high voltage thereacross and produce time-varying magneticflux (i.e. lines of force). In accordance with well known principles ofelectrical energy transfer, the produced magnetic flux transferselectrical power from the base unit to the rechargeable battery aboardthe bar code symbol reading device, whenever the primary and secondaryinductive coils aboard the base unit and the mated device areelectromagnetically coupled by the magnetic flux. In order to maximizeenergy transfer between the base unit and its mated device duringbattery recharging operations, high permeability materials and wellknown principles of magnetic circuit design can be used to increase theamount of magnetic flux coupling the primary and secondary inductivecoils of the battery recharging circuit.

Notably, the base station of the illustrative embodiment described aboveis realized in the form of a cradle-providing unit adapted to receivethe wireless bar code symbol reader, support a Bluetooth® RFcommunication link therewith, while providing a means for recharging thebatteries contained in the wireless device while it is supported withinthe cradle portion of the base station. The base station of the presentinvention can be realized in different form factors, such as, PCMICAcards, portable data collection base stations, and the like, asdescribed in WIPO Publication No. WO 00/33239.

Wireless Automatic Hand-Supportable 2-D Bar Code Symbol Reading Deviceof the Present Invention With Automatic Range-Dependent DataTransmission Control

Referring to FIGS. 16 through 18C4, a wireless automatichand-supportable 2D (PDF417) bar code symbol reading system will now bedescribed, that is capable of decoding all standard linear bar codes aswell as certain 2-D codes, including PDF417, PDF417 truncated, and RSScomposite. With a simple swipe of the easy-to-view laser line over the2-D code, data is captured, decoded, and transmitted quickly and easily.For linear codes, the wireless 2D bar code symbol reading systemoperates in a fashion similar to the system shown in FIGS. 1A3 through15, and described above. Simply aim the laser line on a desired barcode, swipe the 2D bar code symbol while pressing the data transmissionbutton, and the data is transmitted over a wireless 2D RF communicationlink to its base station, and ultimately to the host system to which itis connected.

FIG. 16 shows an alternative embodiment of the automatic wireless laserscanning bar code symbol reading system shown in FIGS. 5A through 5J,modified to support the reading of 2-D bar code symbols (e.g. such asthe PDF 417 symbology) and the novel 2-way RF-based data communicationlink interface and control structure of the present invention. As shownin FIG. 16, this system is designed to operate by the operator manuallymoving the linear laser scanning pattern generated from the wirelessreader in a downward direction along the height dimension of the 2-D barcode structure. Therewhile, the Bar Code Symbol Data Detector (311′)employed therein automatically generates Scan Data Activation SignalA₂=1, whereupon the C₂ Control Module 313 automatically activates aAudible Data Capture Buffering Indicator (e.g. piezo-electicaltransducer) 306, causing audible sounds (e.g. clicks) to be generated aseach line of bar code symbol data is detected thereby prior to 2-Dsymbol decoding.

When the data scanning/collection/buffering process is completed (withthe swiping of the linear laser pattern across the 2-D bar code symbol),and each line collected scan data is buffered in memory and ready fordecode processing, the system automatically generates a visualindication of such completion (via LEDs on the wireless reader), and ifthe operator has depressed the data transmission activation switch 330within when the scanning process is completed, then data packets areautomatically transmitted to the remote base station in accordance withthe principles of the present invention herein. If the wireless readeris moved outside its communication range, then the data packets arebuffered in the Data Packet Group Buffer 802 and subsequentlytransmitted to the base unit when link status is resumed, as describedin detail above.

As illustrated in FIGS. 17A1 through 17B, the wireless system of FIG. 16is similar to the wireless system shown and described in FIGS. 10Athrough 10O. except that the wireless system of FIG. 16 employs BarcodeSymbol Data Detection Circuit 311′ (for detecting lines of 2-D bar codesymbols being scanned) instead of Bar Code Symbol Presence DetectionCircuit 311 which has been designed to detect the presence of complete1-D bar code symbols in a real-time manner; (2) Audible Scan DataCapture Buffering Indicator 806, for generating audible clicking or likesounds during the line by line capture of 2-D bar code symbol scan dataduring bar code swiping operations illustrated in FIG. 16; and (3) avisual indicator (LEDs) for signaling to the operator that the 2-D barcode symbol has been scanned and decoded (i.e. read). Base station unit440′ is similar to base station unit 42 described above.

FIGS. 18A1 through 18C4 shows a high level flow chart of the controlprocess carried out by the control subsystem of the bar code symbolreading system of FIGS. 17A1 through 17B. The primary points ofdifference between the control processes of these two wireless systemsare indicated at Blocks Y through FF in FIGS. 18C2 through 18C3.

By virtue of this alternative embodiment of the present invention, thereis now provided an automatically-activated wireless laser scanning 2Dbar code symbol reading system for use in a work environment.

Having described the preferred embodiments of the present invention,several modifications come to mind.

For example, in the illustrative embodiments of the present invention,particular types of bar code symbol reading engines disclosed hereinhave been suggested for incorporation into various types of wireless barcode reading systems. It is understood, however, that any laser scanningbar code symbol reading engine disclosed herein can be incorporated intoany wireless laser scanning bar code symbol reading systems of thepresent invention, regardless of its form factor in relation to the formfactor of the engine.

While various types of laser scanning bar code symbol reading mechanismsdisclosed herein have been shown or realized in the form of an engine,having a separate housing or module, it is understood that each suchmechanism need not have a separate housing or modular structure, but canbe integrated directly into the structure of the hand-supportablehousing of the bar code symbol reading device.

While the illustrative embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed in connection with various types of bar code symbol readingapplications involving 1-D and 2-D bar code structures, it is understoodthat the present invention can be used in connection with anymachine-readable indicia or graphical structures including, but notlimited to bar code symbol structures. Hereinafter, the term code symbolshall be deemed to include such information carrying structures.

It is understood that the laser scanning modules, engines and bar codesymbol reading systems of the illustrative embodiments may be modifiedin a variety of ways which will become readily apparent to those skilledin the art of having the benefit of the novel teachings disclosedherein. All such modifications and variations of the illustrativeembodiments thereof shall be deemed to be within the scope and spirit ofthe present invention as defined by the claims to Invention appendedhereto.

1-27. (canceled)
 28. An wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system for use in a work environment, said system comprising: (A) a wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader in two-way RF communication with a base station operably connected to a host system, by way of an RF-based wireless data communication link having a predetermined RF communication range over which two-way Communication of data packets can occur in a reliable manner, said wireless hand-supportable bar code reader symbol including (1) a hand-supportable housing; (2) a bar code symbol reading mechanism, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for automatically reading a bar code symbol on an object within a first predetermined time period, and each instant said bar code symbol is read within said first predetermined time period, automatically producing a symbol character data string representative of said read bar code symbol; (3) a first RF-based transceiver circuit, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for transmitting to said base station groups of data packets associated with one or more of said produced symbol character data strings; (4) a data packet group buffer, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for buffering one or more groups of data packets associated with symbol character data strings produced in response to the reading of bar code symbols by said bar code symbol reading mechanism; (5) a data transmission circuit, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for transmitting a selected one of said produced symbol character data strings to either said first RF transceiver circuit or said data packet group buffer; (6) a manually-operated data transmission activation switch, integrated with said hand-supportable housing, for generating a data transmission control activation signal in response to the activation of said manually-activatable data transmission switch within said first first predetermined time period; and (7) a device controller, disposed within said hand-supportable housing, for controlling the operation of said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader and said first RF-based transceiver circuit; and (B) said base station installable within a work environment and including (1) a base station housing, (2) a second RF-based transceiver circuit, disposed within said base station housing, for receiving groups of data packets corresponding to the symbol character data strings transmitted from said first RF-based transceiver circuit, and (3) a base station controller mounted in said base station housing, for controlling the operation of said base station; wherein said first and second RF-based transceiver circuits enable a RF-based wireless data communication link between said wireless hand-supportable bar code reader and said base station; wherein said first and second RF-based transceiver circuits cooperate to enable the communication of data packets between said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader and said base station, over said RF-based wireless data communication link; wherein said second RF-based transceiver includes means for automatically generating and transmitting a reference signal to said first RF-based transceiver circuit over said RF-based wireless data communication link; wherein said first RF-based transceiver circuit includes means for automatically receiving said reference signal and detecting the strength of said reference signal; wherein said device controller is programmed to automatically detect when said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader is located inside of said predetermined RF communication range based on measuring the strength of said detected reference signal, and thereupon to automatically transmit to said first RF-based transceiver, the symbol character data string produced at substantially the same time when said data transmission control activation signal is generated while said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader is located inside of said predetermined RF communication range; and wherein said device controller is programmed to automatically detect when said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader is located outside of said predetermined RF communication range based on measuring the strength of said detected reference signal, and thereupon to automatically collect and store in said data packet group buffer, the symbol character data string produced at substantially the same time when said data transmission control activation signal is generated while said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader is located outside of said predetermined RF communication range.
 29. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, wherein said wireless hand-supportable bar code reader further comprises an out-of-communication range indicator, integrated with said hand-supportable housing, for generating an audible and/or visual signal indicative that said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader is located outside said predetermined RF communication range; wherein said device controller for controls said data transmission circuit, said data packet group buffer and said out-of-communication range indicator.
 30. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 29, wherein said device controller is further programmed to cause said out-of-communication range indicator to automatically generate audible and/or visual signal when said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader is detected as being located outside of said predetermined RF communication range based on measuring the strength of said detected reference signal.
 31. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, wherein said base station further comprises: a cradle portion adapted for receiving said hand-supportable housing.
 32. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 31, wherein said cradle includes a radio antenna.
 33. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, wherein said data packet group buffer is realized as a memory chip installed aboard said hand-supportable housing.
 34. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, wherein said reference signal is a heartbeat-type signal generated from said second RF-based transceiver circuit.
 35. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, wherein said first RF-based transceiver circuit and said device controller are realized as first RF-based chipset disposed within said hand-supportable housing.
 36. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, wherein said second RF-based transceiver circuit and said base station controller are realized as second RF-based chipset disposed within said base station housing.
 37. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, which further comprises a good read indicator, integrated with said hand-supportable housing, for indicating each instance of when a bar code symbol is read by said bar code symbol reading mechanism and a symbol character data string representative thereof is produced.
 38. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, which further comprises an objection detection subsystem disposed within said hand-supportable housing and including infrared (IR) signal transmission/receiving circuitry for automatically detecting said object within an object detection field definable relative to said hand-supportable housing.
 39. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, which further comprises an objection detection subsystem disposed within said hand-supportable housing, and including low-power non-visible laser beam signaling mechanism for automatically detecting said object within an object detection field definable relative to said hand-supportable housing.
 40. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, wherein said device controller is further programmed so that said device controller automatically tests said RF-based wireless data communication link prior to transmitting symbol character data, stored in said data packet group buffer, to said first RF-based transceiver circuit when said data transmission control activation signal is generated while said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader is once again located inside of said predetermined RF communication range.
 41. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, wherein said wireless bar code symbol reader further comprises three LEDs integrated with said hand-supportable housing, and wherein said device controller is programmed so that said three LEDs are illuminated to indicate that said wireless reader is located outside of said predetermined RF communication range out of range.
 42. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, wherein said wireless hand-supportable bar code symbol reader further comprises three LEDs integrated with said hand-supportable housing, and wherein said device controller is programmed so that said three LEDs are illuminated to indicate that symbol character data is stored in said data packet group buffer waiting to be transmitted to said base station by way of said RF-based wireless data communication link.
 43. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, wherein said device controller is programmed so that symbol character data stored within said data packet group buffer can be cleared by holding down said manually-operated data transmission activation switch for a second predetermined time duration.
 44. The wireless automatically-activated bar code symbol reading system of claim 28, wherein said bar code symbol reading mechanism comprises a laser scanning bar code symbol reading mechanism capable of producing a visible laser scanning pattern for automatically reading a bar code symbol on an object within a first predetermined time period, and each instant said bar code symbol is read by said visible laser scanning pattern within said first predetermined time period, automatically producing a symbol character data string representative of said read bar code symbol. 